By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, August 25, 2026 -
President William Ruto has launched the construction of a KSh62 million power station in Olposimoru, Narok West, as the government steps up electricity connectivity alongside a wider infrastructure programme in the county.
The Olposimoru Power Station is expected to connect about 300 households to electricity, with the President saying the investment is intended to expand access to power and support businesses and livelihoods in the area.
“We want to ensure that all Kenyans are connected to power to boost business and lift livelihoods,” Ruto said.
The project forms part of a broader electricity expansion programme in Narok, where the government plans to spend KSh2.8 billion to connect a further 15,000 households.
Ruto said about 14,000 households had already been connected to electricity in Narok over the past three years, with the additional connections expected to extend access to communities that remain off the national grid.
The Olposimoru project is significant for residents who have traditionally faced limited access to electricity, particularly small businesses that rely on power for refrigeration, lighting, machinery and other commercial activities.
The President's announcement came during the first day of his two-day development tour of Narok County, during which he moved through Narok North, Narok South and Narok West, launching roads, opening a modern market and commissioning the power project.
The electricity investment is being accompanied by a much larger road construction programme.
Ruto said the government was undertaking about 300 kilometres of road projects across Narok at a cost of KSh6 billion, including the Enengetia–Olkurto–Olposimoru road launched earlier in the day.
Other projects cited by the President include the ongoing Ololung’a–Ewaso Ng’iro road, the Ololung’a–Sogoo–Saptet–Mulot road, which he said was 60% complete, and the 40-kilometre Suswa–Inkorionito–Naiekia–Enkare road.
The combination of roads and electricity is aimed at opening up rural communities to commercial activity, particularly in agricultural areas.
“Narok is a rich agricultural county and there is no reason why you should not have good roads,” Ruto told residents.
The President said the infrastructure programme was part of his broader commitment to ending what he described as the politics of marginalisation by ensuring development reaches different parts of the country.
The infrastructure push also extends to air transport.
Ruto announced that construction of the KSh677 million Narok Airport is expected to be completed within the next two months.
The facility is expected to improve access to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, one of Kenya's most important tourism destinations, while supporting scheduled flights connecting the county with Nairobi's Wilson Airport.
The President said the airport would serve both domestic and international passengers and strengthen air connectivity to the Maasai Mara.
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The Kilgoris Airstrip is also complete, according to the President, giving Narok two aviation facilities that could strengthen movement across the expansive county.
The developments come as Kenya targets an increase in international and domestic tourism, with Ruto saying the country wants visitor numbers to rise from about 2.7 million to five million by 2028.
He described tourism as an important source of employment and economic activity.
Ruto is scheduled to continue his Narok tour on Wednesday, with his programme taking him to Emurua Dikirr Constituency and Narok South.
He is expected to visit the Mamboleo Modern Market, the Kenya Medical Training College in Emurua Dikirr, the Mogondo–Cheramgoi Road and the Johanna Ng’eno University hostels.
The President is also scheduled to meet Mau evictees at Sogoo in Narok South Constituency.
The Emurua Dikirr leg of the visit comes only days after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua visited the family of the late former Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno in Mogondo.
Gachagua visited the family on August 21, laid a wreath at Ng’eno's gravesite and pledged to help construct a mausoleum after Ng’eno's mother, Mary Temas, appealed for a permanent structure to protect her son's grave from the elements.
The visit took place against the backdrop of continued questions around Ng’eno's death in a helicopter crash in February. Gachagua has publicly demanded answers over the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The family has since suffered another loss, with reports that Ng’eno's brother Paul died on August 21 while undergoing treatment, leaving their mother without both sons.
Ruto's planned appearance in Emurua Dikirr therefore comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the family and the wider constituency.
For the President, however, the wider Narok tour is centred on showcasing infrastructure and public investment, with roads, electricity, markets, health, education and tourism forming the main pillars of the development agenda.
The Olposimoru power station is one of the smaller projects in financial terms, but for the 300 households targeted, the significance is immediate: access to electricity could change how homes operate and how businesses in the area work.
And as the government rolls out larger electricity connections across Narok, the administration is seeking to present power access not simply as an infrastructure project, but as a foundation for business growth, improved livelihoods and wider economic participation.