Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) says it will collaborate with Qatari firm, Nebras Power Company to build a 500 megawatt gas power plant in Mombasa, the East African country’s second largest city, after an agreement was signed in Qatar when Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the country last week.

“Qatar produces a lot of natural gas. Development of a gas plant will open the way for them (Qatar) to supply gas to Kenya,” KenGen’s Managing Director, Mr Albert Mugo told local news platform Daily Nation in an interview.

The power plant, which is expected to be completed in three years, will cost $400 million (Sh34.4 billion).

In furtherance of its plans to improve power in Kenya, the ministry of Energy and Petroleum has invited bids for the development of another gas-fired 700 megawatts power plant, which will be located at Dongo Kundu in Mombasa.

Mugo said Nebras, a company partly owned by Qatar through its Electricity and Water Company, had delayed in signing an agreement with Kengen after a feasibility study was carried out two years ago.

Kenya’s electricity generation has also gotten a needed boost, with Manda Bay Consortium and Aelous Kenya collaborating to set up a gas-fired plant. This will come as part of its investment package worth Sh215 billion, which includes establishing four other projects around the East African country’s Lamu corridor project.

Kenya has explored several options in a bid to meet its deadline of producing 5,000 megawatts of electricity in 40 months, starting from September 2013. The country last month announced it would boost its generating capacity by 280 megawatts using geothermal wells. It has also explored generating power from wind energy in its Lake Turkana.

The country also intends to continue exploring options like solar even as it uses cheap sources of electricity like coal and liquefied natural gas.