State sets aside Sh1.2b to revive stalled Umaa dam
Posted by
Charles Muasya
Date: January 23, 2017
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National Water and Pipeline Corporation officials tour Umaa Dam in Kitui county. Photo/CHARLES MUASYA
Umaa dam in Kitui county that has been at the centre of controversy after the mega project stalled is to be revived at a cost of Sh1.2 billion by the National government.
The flagship project that was initiated during the retired President Kibaki’s regime will however cost Sh400 million more from the initial budget of Sh800 million out of which Sh575 million had been paid before it stalled in 2011.
National Water and pipeline Corporation (NWPC) which implementing the project says construction works will start in April and is expected to provide Kitui town and its environs with one trillion cubic metres of water once complete in two years.
The water agency says the dam will supplement Masinga-Kitui water pipeline which supplies water to Kitui town and surrounding environs and will be the third major water project in the county after Masinga-Kitui pipeline and Kiambere- Mwingi pipeline all projects of the National government.
“The bills of quantities for the mega project has been obtained and we hope by April, both the contractor and consultants from SMEC firm will be on site ready to implement the project,’’ said NWPC chief engineer Benjamin Kiema when he paid a courtesy call to Kitui County CEC member for agriculture Charles Kang’e over the weekend.
Kiema said the stalemate that prompted those ivolved in the project to seek court redress has been unlocked through arbitration hence necessitating the National government to revive the project to mitigate water scarcity in the region.
He however said the budget of the project is provisional given that some of the work had been done before the project stalled like partly construction of tunnels, housing units and a borehole.
Kiema added that the dilapidated equipment which has been lying at the site will be assessed to determine their durability and refurbish those found still durable for use.
Kang’e said the project will greatly improve water supply in the county and the surrounding areas in addition to enabling the residents to improve food production.
He however said thorny issues likely to delay the project further like pending compensation of land owners should be ironed out for smooth implementation of the project.
The construction of the dam with a capacity of 2,500 cubic metres of water stalled after the contractor moved to court, seeking to be paid an additional Sh97 million for work completed.
The contractor also want the court to stop NWPC from evicting him from the contract. The dam becomes the second major project being undertaken by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration in the county this year after the Kibwezi- Mutomo Kitui road that the Head of State launched late last year.
