- Kagombe, while inspecting the project on Wednesday, said that it will be fully implemented and operational by the end of this year.
- The MP said the project is expected to inject 17.6 million litres of water per day into the system.
Image: JOHN KAMAU
Image: JOHN KAMAU
Residents of Gatundu South in Kiambu county will soon heave a sigh of relief as a multibillion-shilling water and sanitation project to end perennial scarcity nears completion.
The Gatundu Water Supply project is expected to connect about 90,000 residents in the constituency and ensure that the region is adequately supplied with water, area MP Gabriel Kagombe said.
The project being implemented by Athi Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA) through the Kenya Towns Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Programme is being funded by the Government and the African Development Bank to a tune of Sh1.75 billion.
Kagombe, while inspecting the project on Wednesday, said that it will be fully implemented and operational by the end of this year.
The MP said the project is expected to inject 17.6 million litres of water per day into the system.
The project entails rehabilitation of Handege water supply to produce 9.6 million litres of water per day, construction of Ruabora and Ngenda water supplies, each producing 4 million litres per day, and laying of raw and treated water main pipes.
“The population in Gatundu South is increasing significantly and especially due to the mushrooming of estates in areas of Gathage and Kimunyu. This project comes in handy to ensure that our people get an all-time flow of clean and sufficient water in their taps. The perennial water shortage in this region will be history once this project is complete,” Kagombe said.
The MP, who was accompanied by Gatundu Water and Sewerage Company managing director Patrick Mwangi, however noted that the project and especially at Ruabora area is facing a hurdle due to compensation row with some land owners.
The row has delayed construction the water intake at Ruabora river but proper interventions have been made.
“Some landowners have not been fully compensated because they are involved in succession disputes in their families. We have however helped them with lawyers so as to hasten the succession process so that they can be compensated for their properties. Resources for compensation are intact,” Kagombe said.
MD Patrick Mwangi said the landowners are owed Sh400 million which he said will be paid once they settle their disputes.
Mwangi said that the disputes have delayed the project completion, which was supposed to be last year since its inception in 2018.
“The only bottlenecks we are facing is the compensation partly because of the land issues where the government at other times do not have money for compensation and partly because we have landowners who have not completed the succession process. We want the government to hasten the compensation process for acquisition of the land,” Mwangi said.
The MP pointed out that the mega project also entails sanitation improvement through construction of waste water disposal systems for Gatundu town that will see over 2,000 residents connected to sewer.
“Laying of reticulation sewers is almost complete and residents in Mutomo, Kimunyu, Kiganjo, Ruabora, Ng’enda and Handege villages will benefit from this project. The sewer system will go a long way in enhancing waste water management in this area,” he said.
The lawmaker also divulged that a proposed multi-billion-shilling dam set to be constructed at Rooi, Kagunyi, Kaftiti, Munyuini, Irigu and Kihara villages will serve residents living upstream.
Locals in Ng’enda village welcomed the project terming it a shot-in-the-arm and a life-changer.
Resident Eunice Ndotono said that they struggle with water crises especially during dry seasons when they are forced to trek long distances in search of the precious commodity.