Approximately 1.3 million people from the Lower Eastern Region in Kenya will benefit from the Thwake Dam project. This is after the Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa officially signed the contract earlier on this week.
According to Wamalwa, Thwake will be the largest single project in the country and the region. It will also provide a total of 134m litres of water daily. In comparison, Thwake is 10 times the size of Ndakaini dam. It will also be the largest in East Africa.
He further added that the project will cost about US $354.24m and an additional US $48m for compensation. The Kenyan government, together with the African Development Bank (AfDB) are responsible for funding the water project. It is located on the border of Kitui and Makueni counties.
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Improving water services
According to Wamalwa, over 60 dams are under construction across the counties. These are part of an initiative for improving water services in the country to 80% by the year 2020. Kitui County Governor Charity Ngilu said that the dam will be a game changer in the region. She also pledged to fully support the project to ensure there are no hitches that derail the project.
Ngilu also assured Kitui County residents of the completion of Umaa Dam which had been marred by challenges. She also asked the contractor to use local materials in the counties as well as employ the people in those counties where the construction is taking place.
The China Gezhouba Construction Group Corporation is in charge of the construction.
