A regional water training institute is to be built in Kisumu at a cost of Sh2 billion.
The institute, a collaboration of the national and Kisumu county governments, will be located in Miwani, Muhoroni subcounty on 20 acres.
Trainees will be Kenyans and young people from the rest of East Africa.
On Wednesday, Kenya Water Institute (Kewi) chairperson Wavinya Ndeti said the institute will sort out the shortage of water professionals. “We have the framework, structural and design, of the institute. We are only waiting for the allocation of funds in the next financial year.”
Ndeti led a delegation on a courtesy call on Governor Anyang' Nyong’o at his office.
She said the government is committed to achieving the goal for sufficient and clean water for wananchi.
Nyong’o welcomed the project, saying it will benefit Kisumu and the rest of the country. He called for more development projects and urged investors to take advantage of available business opportunities.
Kewi has been training water resource management professionals since 1960. It started offering diploma and certificates courses in rented rooms in Kisumu in 2012.
Kewi will complement counties' efforts to boost water supply by drilling boreholes. “We have water drilling equipment, including those for screening possible water points. The institute is ready to work with the counties to realise sufficient, clean and safe water,” Ndeti said.
Kisumu Water executive Salmon Orimba said the institute and the county government are drilling more boreholes to ensure adequate supplies.
Kewi is also drilling 20 boreholes in Kakamega county.
