The Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Eric Muuga on Monday assured the country that the government is pushing for all stakeholders involved in the construction of Thwake Dam to release funds for its smooth completion.
Speaking during a site visit, Muuga assured the country that the State has fully engaged key stakeholders including the African Development Bank (AfDB) to hasten the release of cash flow to allow the construction of the dam to continue.
"This project is a game changer for over 1.3 million residents from the rural parts of lower eastern counties of Makueni, Kitui and parts of Machakos," noted Muuga.
He also assured the Contractor that his ministry will fast-track processing of the pending Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) in due time.
Moreover, he acknowledged that the Project has faced significant cashflow challenges adding that the Dam Embankment settlement is ongoing well nearly at the edges.
"We are in constant communication with the AfDB to fast-track payment pending certificates so that the contractor can complete the work," added the CS.
Muuga also noted that the Project has made significant progress of more than 94 per cent with variations with the ministry keen to ensure it is completed by June next year.
He was accompanied by the Principal Secretary, the State Department for Water and Sanitation Julius Korir, Water Secretary Eng. Samuel Alima, the Contractor, the Consultant and a section of the implementation team.
The Government is currently implementing phase 1 of the project whose scope involves the construction of an 80.5-metre concrete face rockfill dam with a storage of 688 million cubic metres at Sh36 billion.
The second phase will involve the development of Water Supply, Sanitation and Wastewater Infrastructure to supply an estimated 150,000 cubic metres a day of treated water to approximately 1.3 Million people from both rural and urban areas of Makueni, Kitui and Konza Techo City in Machakos Counties.
Moreover, the third and fourth phases will see the development of a hydropower generating system with an installed capacity of approximately 20 MW and an Irrigation Scheme in an estimated 100,000 acres of land, a milestone towards ensuring food security.
This is a flagship program under Vision 2030 of the Government of Kenya whose overall objective is to fulfil the long-term country’s development ambition in the areas of water, energy and agriculture, and a key project under the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).