Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to construct a new dam on River Dawa in Mandera County, Kenya.
As part of the construction project, the three states will also construct a hydro power station on the river and a bridge linking Kenya and Ethiopia which is meant to promote cross-border movement across the river.
The announcement was made during a three day meeting organized by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Nairobi, Kenya. The entire process will be undertaken by IGAD, who had called the meeting to discuss on co-operation in management and sustainable development of River Dawa.
The three states have formed a technical team that will undertake the feasibility study of the proposed projects. The projects are meant to harness and promote sustainable use of the river according to Mandera County Governor Ali Roba who represented the government in the forum that took place at Sarova Panafric hotel Nairobi.
The total cost of the new dam construction project is yet to be estimated but feasibility studies will be undertaken by a technical team formed by the three countries. The representatives of the three states present in the meeting expressed their support for the project and were optimist that it will be successful.
River Dawa flows from Ethiopia, and then enters Somalia to become the Jubba. It forms part of border between Kenya- Ethiopia and Somalia – Ethiopia. Ethiopia is running the Grand Renaissance Dam project already, and is planning to construct the Gebba River Dam – a project that will cost US$ 700m.
