The Kenyan government is carrying out a feasibility study for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, which will cost $5bn and will be started no later than 2021. Set for completion by 2027, the project has been developed largely to address the east African country’s expensive and unreliable power supply, which is often cited as a deterrent to investment.

The facility will generate 1000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, a significant addition to the total 2299MW the country currently produces, most of which comes from hydroelectric dams and geothermal wells, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission. Kenya aims to increase production to 6766MW by 2020.

The government will begin looking for bidders on the project when it chooses a site, and will look at both private-public partnerships and government-to-government deals for funding and support, the National Electricity Board reported.