Kenya's Mwache Dam in Kwale is over 90% built, ministry says; Chinese firm Sinohydro is contractor

Mwache Dam in Kwale County is more than 90 per cent complete, according to the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, The Star reported on 10 October. Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa recently put the Coast region's daily water demand at about 512,000 cubic metres against supply of 185,000, a deficit of about 327,000 cubic metres. If the dam is completed and connected to an efficient distribution system, it could supply more than half of that deficit.

The dam at Fulugani is designed to supply about 186,000 cubic metres of treated water a day. Its reservoir is expected to hold about 136 million cubic metres. The World Bank has described the project as a flagship investment and says it is part of the Coastal Region Bulk Water Programme. Land acquisition, compensation and relocation of affected communities contributed to delays. President William Ruto recently inspected the site and commissioned the new Fulugani Comprehensive School.

The ministry is implementing the project with Sinohydro Corporation Limited as contractor. Sinohydro is a member company of the Chinese group POWERCHINA. The construction contract was signed in August 2019 and physical works began in March 2022. Roller-compacted concrete work on the main structure was completed on 27 August after about 610,000 cubic metres of concrete had been placed.

The Standard reported on 6 May that Sinohydro had stopped construction because of delayed payment. It quoted Kangogo Bowen, chairman of the National Assembly's Water, Irrigation and Blue Economy committee, as saying the contractor had a bill of KSh 1.9 billion in unpaid certificates. No funds had been set aside for laying pipes and building the water treatment plant, and the committee said the dam "might turn into a white elephant" if completed without them. The dam had 4,000 project-affected persons, and Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza called for compensation for 2,000 of them who had been waiting since 2021.

The Kenya News Agency (KNA) reported on 7 May that the dam is funded jointly by the World Bank and the Kenyan government, that works had slowed over the unpaid certificates and that KSh 5.8 billion was allocated to the project for the 2026/27 financial year. It quoted Bowen as saying: "Working with the Treasury, we will provide the resources required to make sure this project doesn't stop."

On 19 August, Principal Secretary Julius Korir of the State Department for Water and Sanitation said the overall project stood at 82 per cent, the main dam had reached 90 per cent and the lower check dam was at 88 per cent. Mugaa said construction of the main dam had surpassed 90 per cent. The main dam is an 84-metre-high roller-compacted concrete gravity dam.