UK to fund the construction of a new multipurpose dam in Kitui and Tharaka Nithi counties at a cost of Sh425 billion
UK government to fund the construction of new multipurpose dam to be built in Kitui and Tharaka Nithi counties will cost Sh425 billion.
Following an agreement reached by President William Ruto and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, a new multipurpose dam to be built in the counties of Kitui and Tharaka Nithi will cost Sh425 billion.
The construction of the dam, the second-most expensive infrastructure project in Kenya after the standard gauge railway, is one of six projects totaling Sh500 billion that would be expedited under a new UK agreement sidelines of the climate conference COP27 underway in Egypt.
Initially, the dam was estimated to cost about Sh220 billion ($2 billion).
The dam is a public-private partnership on the Tana River and is planned to generate 1,000 megawatts of hydroelectric energy and provide irrigation for 400,000 hectares of farmland.
“Led by UK engineering firm GBM, the project is envisaged to include both a Power Purchase Agreement for clean energy and a Water Purchase Agreement for agricultural irrigation,” the UK government said in a statement.
The ambitious five-year UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership will use the green investment programs in energy, agriculture, and transportation as its centerpiece projects.
The partnership’s goal is to maximize advantages for both nations.
The six projects include a multifunctional dam, a credit guarantee program, a new geothermal project in Menengai, a solar energy project in Malindi, and the redevelopment of Nairobi Railway City.
The Malindi Solar Expansion — a 40-megawatt solar plant, whose first phase will cost Sh7.5 billion will be built by UK company Globeleq with finance from British International Investment.
The deal will also see a KSh2.5 billion investment in Menengai Geothermal, a 35MW geothermal project by Geothermal Development Company (GDC), and UK’s Globeleq which will mark the full development of a field discovered by GDC.
The deal will also fast-track the Nairobi Railway City with a KSh5 billion investment which includes the regeneration of central Nairobi, anchored on a new central rail station connected to Bus Rapid Transit.
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