Coast Regional Commissioner (RC) Rhoda Onyancha has urged constructors to strictly adhere to project completion timelines for the coastal communities to derive economic benefits from mega infrastructural projects undertaken by the government.
The RC led the National Government Development-Regional Implementation Coordination and Management Committee (NGD-RICMC) to a project monitoring visits to the Mwache multi-purpose dam, Dongo Kundu bypass and the Shimoni Fishing Port project in Kwale County.
The construction of the multi-billion Mwache multi-purpose dam in Kwale County is rapidly gathering pace as the constructor works around the clock to realize the project objective of upscaling water production.
The Coast Region Water Security and Climate Resilience Project (CRWSCRP) being implemented by the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation aims to increase bulk water supply to Mombasa and Kwale counties sustainably and to increase access to water and sanitation in Kwale County.
The dammed water will also be used for irrigation purposes with more than 6,000 acres of land expected to be under irrigation for food production in Kwale.
The project is designed to have a main dam, lower check dam and upper check dam. The main dam with a height of 84 meters (m) and a crest length of 526m will have a capacity of 127 million m3 of water. It will harness water flow from the Mwache River basin for domestic water supply.
The dam will supply 186000 m3 of water in a day to the Port City of Mombasa and the expansive Kwale County.
Concrete works are ongoing at the diversion channel of the main dam and the stilling basin of the lower check dam, and an aggregate crushing plan has been set up for aggregate stockpiles.
The land acquisition had slowed the kicking off and the handing over of the Kenya Government and World Bank (WB) funded project.
The WB is supposed to disburse United States dollars (USD) 255 million (equivalent to Sh33.7 billion, at current exchange rates) for the construction while the Kenya Government will cater for land compensation at USD 45 million (Sh5.9 billion).
RC Onyancha assured the constructor of security that they work 24 hours to ensure the timely completion of the project that commenced last year. The project is at ten per cent and is scheduled to be completed in June 2027.
The RC further directed Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde to be firm for the project and not be derailed by local politics.
“Don’t allow that. We have timelines,” said RC Onyancha, urging the Kwale administrator to work with other security agencies to facilitate seamless construction.
The NGD-RICMC team later crisscrossed the long dual carriageway Dongo Kundu bypass that nears completion.
The Sh22 billion bypass involves the construction of an interchange at the Likoni-Lunga Lunga highway and two bridges at Mwache – covering 660 metres, and another at Mteza straddling 1,440 metres.
The Mwache Bridge is 100 per cent complete, the Tsunza Viaduct 99.2 per cent, Mtenza Bridge 97.6 per cent.
At the tail end its construction, the bypass is poised to be a game changer as it will not only connect three main transport corridors: The Mombasa-Nairobi highway, Mombasa-Malindi highway, and the Mombasa- Lunga Lunga highway but also reduce congestion at the Likoni ferry crossing channel.
The project aims to provide road connectivity to the South Coast including the 3000-acre Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for socio-economic development, and connection to/from the Moi International Airport and SGR Miritini terminus thus improving tourism in Diani.
The project will also promote trade facilitation between Kenya and the neighbouring countries.
The Sh2.6 billion Shimoni Fish Project is 61 per cent complete. It involves the construction of a Modern Jetty of 75m x 30m with a causeway of 135m long x 7m wide, a warehouse accommodating a Fish Processing Plant, Cold Storage, and Ice-Making Plant.
The project will also entail the construction of a port access road, port gates and support facilities such as offices and washrooms, a Power Sub-station including a generator (500KVA), a water storage tank (250CM), and a goods warehouse at the existing Jetty side to serve the general public.
The NGD-RICMC was informed that the construction of a fire station was substituted with a Fish Meal Plant. The County Government of Kwale was tasked to identify a suitable site for the construction of a fish auction market.
By Sadik Hassan
