Turkey powers deeper into Africa’s electricity sector

• Nairobi in talks with Karpowership
• On- and offshore electricity projects
• Sector requires $400bn investment

Turkey’s private power sector is expanding its footprint across Africa, with Kenya looking to contract a Turkish supplier to help plug widening electricity shortages in the country.

Nairobi is in talks with Turkish firm Karpowership, a unit of Karadeniz Holding that operates a fleet of floating power plants, to deploy one or more electricity-generating ships in local waters, according to a Bloomberg report on May 26 citing a senior Kenyan official.

The prospective Kenyan deal, aimed at helping bridge the widening electricity shortfall in the country, would add to a growing portfolio of Turkish energy projects across Africa. Karpowership vessels are already linked to the grids of at least six countries on the continent, including Ghana, where it says it meets 23 percent of electricity demand, as well as Senegal, Mozambique, Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire.

Turkey’s expansion also extends onshore. Aksa Energy operates terrestrial power plants in Gabon, Mali and Ghana while developing a 119-megawatt oil-fired plant in Burkina Faso that is due to come online by the end of this year.

In April, the company signed a $300 million loan agreement with the Africa Finance Corporation to support its investments across the continent.

With a growing presence in electricity generation and infrastructure, Turkey has emerged as a middle-power but increasingly influential player in Africa’s energy sector, according to a report this month by the Atlantic Council.

The continent’s power sector could require about $400 billion in additional investment by 2030 for generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, the report said, creating opportunities for Turkish firms specialising in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC).

The report said Turkish EPC companies have developed competitive capabilities in areas such as power plants, transmission lines and infrastructure projects, with some increasingly viewed as alternatives to Chinese contractors.

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Turkish electricity companies have also benefited from Ankara’s broader regional strategy, which combines humanitarian aid, security cooperation and investment partnerships with African governments, particularly in the Sahel, according to Professor Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu of the Social Sciences University of Ankara.

“The investments and services by Turkish companies where access to electricity is limited for a large segment of the society is also seen as an investment into development and in turn this also increases the soft power of Turkey there,” she told AGBI.

“As Turkey’s presence is newer compared to other colonial countries it has a more positive image, and I believe Turkish companies benefit from this.”