CS Njeru: First phase of Thwake Dam to be complete in December

Cabinet Secretary for Water and Sanitation Zacharia Njeru has said the first phase of Thwake Dam will be complete by December this year.

Accompanied by his PS Julius Korir,  Njeru on Tuesday led a high-profile delegate in celebrating the completion of an embankment section at Thwake Multipurpose Dam.

While officiating the ceremony, the CS noted that he was happy with the progress.

Njeru too conducted a site inspection and appraisal tour on implementation of the dam’s civil works and other related activities.

The Embankment section of the dam was planned to be completed by May.

"As a ministry, we are extremely happy that we have seen successful completion of the Embankment within schedule with phase one recording a progress rate of 93 per cent," noted Njeru

The final filling of the Embankment now paves the 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.

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).

The dam will also provide regulation of flows on River Athi downstream of the dam for flood control and drought mitigation.

"This dam will be a game changer by creating both social and economic impact on the residents of the three Ukambani regions," added PS

The contractor’s scope of works entails the construction and installation of a concrete-rock fill dam, main and emergency spillway, low-level outlet, intake tower, access roads, hydro-mechanical plant, electrical and mechanical plant, access road over the dam connecting Kitui and Makueni counties and employer’s camp.

Present during the tour were Program Coordinator Eng. David Onyango, Makueni CECM for DevolutioN Japheth Mang'oka among others