The government will accelerate the completion of all mega multi-billion shillings dam projects across the country to strengthen its water and food security agenda.
The Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Eng. Eric Mugaa gave the assurance during a tour of the Sh45 billion Mwache Multipurpose Dam project in Kwale County.
Eng. Mugaa says constructions of strategic dams like the Mwache Multipurpose Dam and the Sh37 billion Thwake Dam located at the border of Makueni and Kitui counties along the Athi River are progressing steadily.
“The dams are at various stages of completion with constructors actively working on site with state agencies intensifying efforts to overcome funding and resettlement challenges slowing progress,” he said.
He went further ‘the government would put all necessary measures in place to ensure the timely completion of the mega water projects’.
The coastal region faces a severe daily water deficit of 327,000 cubic meters with a total demand reaching 512,000 cubic meters against a supply of only 185,000 cubic meters.
Mugaa who was accompanied by Principal Secretary for Water Julius Korir and Eng. Samwel Alima, the Water Secretary, says the Thwake Multipurpose Water Development Program is approximately 94 percent to 96 complete while Mwache Dam has reached over 90 percent completion rate.
He said the plan to construct water dams is to ensure a fairer distribution of water resources across the country and mitigate the impact of declining rainfall and low reservoir levels.
The CS stated that the two mega dam projects are flagship projects advancing the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) by strengthening water security, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and building climate resilience for communities.
He says the Mwache Multipurpose Dam Project is being implemented to strengthen water security and support sustainable economic growth across the coastal region.
Implemented under the Coast Region Water Security and Climate Resilience Project, the dam is poised to become a transformative asset for the coast region unlocking growth and strengthening resilience against climate-related shocks.
He said the development objective of the Mwache Dam project is to sustainably increase bulk water supply to Kwale and Mombasa counties and increase access to water and sanitation.
Mugaa said the Mwache Dam will store up to 136 billion litres of water and supply approximately 186 million litres of treated clean water daily to households, industries, and institutions across Kwale and Mombasa counties.
The CS added that the Mwache Dam project will create employment opportunities and enhance water supply, irrigation and tourism among other benefits.
He said the 84-metre-high roller-compacted concrete gravity dam continues to take shape at unparalleled speed bringing closer to ‘delivering a reliable water supply to the coast region’.
“This is government commitment to delivery and proof of concept that a mega Roller Compacted Concrete dam can be substantially done in a record time,” he said.
“This is truly a sight to behold and an engineering marvel as the Mwache dam is the only Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) dam project in East Africa,” he said, adding that the government is accelerating its strategy to strengthen its water infrastructure.
He said the Mwache Multipurpose Dam is designed to harness flood flows from the Mwache River Basin for domestic water supply and irrigation in Mombasa and Kwale counties, while strengthening resilience to increasing variations in weather and climatic patterns.
Eng. Mugaa said using advanced RCC technology allows fast placement of zero-slump concrete compacted by heavy vibratory rollers, speeding up construction of the 84-meter-high structure ahead of its planned October 2026 impoundment.
The CS said he would be conducting nationwide inspection tours of dams, irrigation, water supply and sanitation projects that are set to boost food security and infrastructure development.
Eng. Mugaa stated that the inspection tours are being undertaken to identify critical areas requiring urgent intervention particularly multipurpose dams that are yet to be completed and others that are experiencing challenges such as siltation.
On his part, Korir said the inspection provided an opportunity to review overall project preparedness and ensure that both the core dam infrastructure and community development interventions remain on course to deliver sustainable water security, improved public services and stronger livelihoods for communities in Mombasa and Kwale counties.
The PS said the Mwache dam project is critical to irrigation development, flood control and sustainability of water supply in the coastal region.
He said the Mwache project remains a strategic investment in enhancing water security, supporting irrigation, strengthening climate resilience, and improving the socio-economic wellbeing of communities in the Coast region
By Hussein Abdullahi
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