The Sh684 million Ol Kalou Sewerage System project will be commissioned in December for use by the residents, Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki has said.
While directing the contractor undertaking the construction to institute a 24-hour work program to ensure completion of the project in the next two months, Karuiki said the project was delayed by land acquisition issues that have since been resolved.
CS Kariuki who made an impromptu visit at the plant’s construction site in Mathathi area on the outskirt of Ol Kalou town, revealed that the county had an upward of Sh3.8 billion flagship projects in the current financial year.
She said the multi- million sewerage project that is funded by the African Development Bank and the National Government is expected to be commissioned for use later this year.
“Sewer connection will accrue a number of benefits to the residents including improving the value of land as the connection to sewer line would also mean environmental benefits,” said the CS, while urging the County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee to support the contractor.
The project, the first of its kind in the county, will also include a water treatment plant with a capacity to produce 2000 cubic meters of water a day that will be supplied through a network of 10 kilometres.
It will also see 3300 cubic meters of sewerage treated every day from its 38 kilometres waste water network.
On completion, Ol Kalou town’s daily water supply will be 3,700 cubic metres, more than double the current 1,700 cubic metres with over 500 consumer connections.
“The water component has a design water treatment capacity of 2000 litres per day targeting to serve a population of 30,500, while the sewerage component has a design treatment capacity of 3.3 million litres targeting to serve a population of 68,800 people by the year 2040,” added the CS.
Central Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency, Chair Amb. Benson Muhia, said they had ensured that local communities were involved in the project through employment.
The project, he said, was important to the people of Ol’ Kalou and the larger Nyandarua County which is known as a water tower for its neighbouring counties of Nakuru, Nairobi and Kiambu, but has had a dire need for a proper sewerage system.
Amb Muhia said that the authority would monitor the project to ensure that quality work had been delivered and that the project had been completed within the scheduled time.
The work is being developed by the Central Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency, with Sino Hydro Corporation Limited, undertaking the works.
By Anne Sabuni
