This archive report was first published on 28 September 2019.
Published on September 28, 2019, the construction of the 24 billion shillings Kariminu 11 dam in Gatundu North, Kiambu County is five percent done, with the government aiming to complete it by 2022.
Interior and National Government Coordination Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang'i visited the site on Friday and expressed satisfaction with the speed of the project's progress.
He stated that President Uhuru Kenyatta will lay a stone in the coming weeks to officially commence works, and instructed the contractor to ensure that works are done every day to meet the project's deadline.
Dr. Matiang'i emphasized the importance of fast-tracking national projects and warned contractors who fail to meet deadlines will be expelled from projects.
Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui revealed that Sh.2billion had been set aside in this year's budget to finalize phase 11 compensation to pave way for works to start downstream.
He added that Sh1.28billion had already been released to compensate for some 178 acres in phase 1, and that the Ministry had initiated water and Sanitation projects of over Sh10billion in Kiambu County.
Dr. Matiang'i called on families to resolve land succession disputes fast to pave way for speedy compensation, as the disputes slow down the compensation process.
The officials also instructed the contractor to ensure that locals get a majority share of jobs at the site.
The dam is set to benefit close to 850,000 residents in the two counties and will be built on a 600-acre piece of land with a height of 59 metres and a storage capacity of 26.5 million cubic metres.
