The government has spent over Sh36 billion in the construction of the embankment area of Thwake Multipurpose Dam, Makueni county.
Water, Sanitation and Irrigation CS Zachariah Njeru has said the Ministry is currently implementing phase 1 of the programme, whose scope involves constructing an 80.5-meter Concrete Face Rockfill Dam (CFRD), with a storage capacity of 688 million cubic meters.
The CS was speaking during an inspection tour of Thwake dam, where he witnessed the final filling of the embankment area, being constructed at the confluence of Thwake and Athi Rivers at the border of Makueni and Kitui counties.
“This exercise marks a great milestone for the dam being constructed at the confluence of Thwake and Athi Rivers. The filling of the embankment will now pave way for the settlement of the dam and implementation of the bridge over the embankment, concrete face, installation of the gates and other downstream activities,” he added.
Njeru disclosed that the completion of the first phase will be done by December 6, 2024, while adding that water supply, hydropower development and irrigation activities will follow soon after.
“The dam is expected to be completed by early December after the construction works that commenced on March 27, 2018. The Ministry expects water filling of the dam to take approximately two normal rainy seasons,” he said.
So far, the construction of the dam civil works and other related activities are ongoing, with an overall progress of works at 93.63 percent against a time lapse of 92.77 percent with the embankment recording 100per cent.
Njeru disclosed that discussions were also underway with the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) to source for funding for the downstream works that will ultimately fulfil the long-term country’s development areas of water, energy and agriculture.
Consequently, the CS added that the ministry has already finalized the designs and tender documents for the critical downstream components of water, energy and agriculture.
“The second phase will involve development of water supply, sanitation and wastewater infrastructure to distribute supply estimated at 150,000 cubic meters a day of treated water to 1.3 million people drawn from the rural and urban areas of Kitui, Makueni counties and the Konza Techno City,” said Njeru.
“The third and fourth phases will see development of a hydropower generating system with an installed capacity of approximately 20MW and an irrigation scheme to irrigate 100,000 acres of land to contribute to food security,” he added.
The CS was accompanied by the ministry’s Principal Secretary Julius Korir, Water Secretary Eng. Samuel Alima, Makueni County Commissioner Henry Wafula, Chairperson Tana Water Works Development Agency Regina Ndambuki and the County Executive Committee for Devolution Japheth Mang’oka among others.