Mwache Dam construction in Kinango, Kwale county, is expected to start soon following the completion of rehabilitation works for the project, Coast Development Authority MD Mohamed Keinan has said.
Most construction works should have started by December, the managing director said.
He said rehabilitation works that had earlier begun to set grounds for the project were complete.
“We are through with the first stage and we are yet to embark on the actual work,” Keinan said.
The restoration work included terracing, tree planting, contour ploughing, construction of gabions among other activities to allow for the regeneration of natural vegetation to conserve the environment and comply with the environmental laws.
It had previously delayed due to lack of funding and disagreements between some leaders and the national government over the compensation terms for landowners.
A section of the leaders were accused of politicising the project thus creating resistance among the residents.
The leaders complained about low compensation rates and vowed to protect residents against exploitation. They demanded that each landowner be paid a minimum of Sh1 million for an acre.
The Sh20 billion project is being constructed by the national and county government in cooperation with the World Bank.
It would take about 1,600 acres of land affecting approximately 4,250 residents.
Keinan assured that everyone affected by the project will be fairly compensated.
The compensation process is already in progress and targeted communities would be sorted out in phases.
The dam is expected to harness floodwater from River Mwache in Fulugani and hold 118 million cubic meters of water enough to address the perennial shortage in the region.
The project would help put about 2,600 hectares of land into active farming to improve food security.
A huge per cent of Kwale land is normally affected by drought, Kinango being among the hardest hit.
The area has for many years relied on relief food when acute hunger strikes.
Some of the activities expected to be tapped by the dam are fishing.
The surplus water would be pumped to Mombasa as one way of increasing and boosting the nationwide supply.
“The infrastructure investments are crucial to extending water and sanitation services to more people across the coastal counties,” Keinan said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
