The Kenyan authorities plan to start construction of the Koru-Soin Multi-Purpose Dam by September 2020. The facility to be built in Kisumu County in the west of the country will provide water for community supply, irrigation and a small hydropower plant.
The Koru-Soin multi-purpose dam project will fully enter its construction phase by September 2020. Erick Okeyo, Chairman of the National Water Harvesting Storage Authority announced this after the closing of the tender for the selection of a company to build the facility. The results of the call for expressions of interest will be known within a month.
The selected company will directly undertake the work to deliver the reservoir within 5 years. The Koru-Soin Multi-Purpose Dam will be built on the Nyando River, upstream of the town of Muhoroni, in Kisumu County, western Kenya. The future dam will supply water to the population, irrigate plantations and operate a 2.5 MW hydroelectric power plant.
According to the Kisumu County Government, the water retention will provide relief to the people of Kisumu and Kericho towns, especially those in the Nyando Basin who are regularly affected by floods. The dam is expected to provide an additional 71,279 m³ per day of drinking water supply to more than 1.7 million people.
An investment of $231.4 million will be required to complete the project
The Kenya National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has granted provisional approval for the implementation of the Koru-Soin Dam Project. The dam will have a reservoir covering over 1,000 hectares, affecting 360 parcels of land, of which 230 and 130 are in Kisumu and Kericho counties.
The project will cost 25 billion Kenyan shillings or $231.4 million. “Kenya’s National Treasury has already allocated 5 billion Kenyan shillings (more than $46 million) to start construction and another 15 billion shillings (nearly $139 million) is awaiting approval. These funds will be allocated by October 2020. At least 2 billion shillings ($18.5 million) will be spent on compensation for those affected, with the remaining 18 billion ($166.5 million) going to the dam and water supply components,” the Kisumu County Government says.
Jean Marie Takouleu
