Infrastructure
Sh82bn Thwake Dam Now Set to Open in December
The multipurpose dam project is currently 89% complete.
The construction of the Thwake Multi-Purpose Dam in Ukambani is likely to continue until December, following the contractor’s request for additional time.
The project, whose contractual completion date is February 6, was expected to close in June 2024 after the contractor, China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), applied for more time to complete the first phase of the Sh81.89 billion project.
“The contractor has given notice of intention to ask for extra time to complete the job due to various technical reasons, including the El Niño rains,” Water Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Njeru said during a tour of the project site last week.
A decision on the new completion date request is pending.
The dam, at the border of Makueni and Kitui counties, is 89% complete, as reported by the project consultant, Snowy Mountains Engineering Company.
On December 31, 2021, CGGC successfully diverted a section of the Athi River into two giant tunnels to facilitate on-site excavation.
According to the company, the tunnels – 700 metres long with a diametre of 12 metres – would be used as substitute waterways where Athi River would change course before later joining the original path to the Indian Ocean.
This would allow the construction of a rock field dam wall that would be 87 meters high and the installation of main and minor spillways for excess water flow.
“We have decided to alter the river course flow so that major excavation works can be allowed when the river base is dry,” CGGC General Manager Frank Keeh said.
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The Thwake Dam project, considered the second-largest in the country after the Masinga Dam on the border of Embu, Kitui, and Machakos counties, is jointly funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Kenya.
It will be implemented in four phases.
688 million cubic metres
Phase one, which is underway, involves construction of 87m-high dam wall with 688 million cubic metres storage capacity, and preliminary works for the implementation of the subsequent three phases.
The second phase of Thwake Multi-Purpose Dam project will involve installation of a hydropower generation plant, while phase three comprises the installation of water supply, sanitation, and waste water infrastructure.
The fourth phase will involve the development of the irrigation component.
Through budgetary allocations to the respective ministry, the government will invest Sh59.95 billion in the project, with AfDB contributing Sh21.94 billion.
Thwake Dam will provide water for domestic, irrigation, hydropower as well as industrial activities in the beneficiary counties.
It will mainly serve Makueni County as well as certain parts of Kitui County.
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