The Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Andrew Tuimur broke ground on November 12th, 2021. The goal of the drinking water project being implemented near the Mt. Elong-Mayanja-Kibalii Complex in Bungoma County, Kenya is to improve service to 85,000 people.
To achieve this goal, the Lake Victoria North Waterworks Development Agency (LVNWWDA), which is implementing the project, will construct a drinking water plant. The future facility will have a capacity of 4,000 m3 per day. A station will pump 4,200 m3 of raw water per day from Lake Victoria. This water will flow through a 3.8 km linear network to the water treatment plant.
Financing of the Koïca
The drinking water will be supplied to reservoirs through 46 km of pipes, and distributed through kiosks installed in Mt. Elgon, Kabuchai, Kanduyi and Kibabii University, Bungoma County. “With this project, the water production capacity for drinking and livestock in Bungoma is expected to increase to 80% from the current 67%,” says Andrew Tuimur, the Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation. The project will also help prevent waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, malaria and neglected tropical diseases.
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The Kenyan government will fund the entire project with a 600 million Kenyan shillings (approximately $5.36 million) grant from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koïca). The funding also includes capacity building for Bungoma County staff to operate and maintain the new water supply facilities.
Inès Magoum