The China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), the main contractor for Thwake Multi-Purpose Dam, has moved to challenge a High Court decision made on August 22, 2023, awarding JTG Enterprise Limited Sh682.76 million for breach of contract.
During the ruling, Justice Alfred Mabeya from the Milimani High Court in Nairobi allowed JTG Enterprises Limited, which is a sub-contractor for the mega dam, to auction CGGC’s assets to meet the cost they incurred while doing excavation works on the spillway.
However, CGGC said in a press release Friday that the allegations by the subcontractor were misleading, false, and hold no ground, adding that they have meticulously collected key evidence to debunk the inaccuracies and misleading information.
“The ongoing legal proceedings involving JTG Enterprises Limited, one of the subcontractors engaged in spillway excavation and slope drainage support works, stem from their failure to fulfil the terms stipulated in the subcontract agreement,” said Tang Yazhou, CGGC’s authorised representative and the general manager of the Kenya Branch.
“Regrettably, JTG’s unilateral departure from the project site in May 2022 without authorization by the main contractor, the owner, and the site engineer led to a breach of contractual obligations,” lamented Yazhou in the press release.
He further accused JTG of submitting an inaccurately prepared geotechnical analysis report that was not supported by scientific exploration methodologies and raised significant concerns about the veracity of their claims.
“This report erroneously concluded that all excavated materials, totaling 7 million cubic metres, were composed solely of hard rock. Notably, this claim has been refuted by SMEC, the project consultant engineer,” he observed.
The High Court awarded the Kenyan firm the monies arising from the supplementary agreement, which the Chinese company had failed to remit on “erroneous contention,” which amounted to a variation of the sub-contract.
Last week, Water Secretary Eng. Samuel Alima said the government was closely monitoring and fast-tracking the construction of the mega dam to enhance food security in the Lower Eastern Region.
Alima was happy with the progress of the works, which were at 84.4 per cent completion, noting that the finalisation of the first phase deadline of February 6, 2024, will be met as scheduled.
The Government of Kenya and the African Development Bank (AfDB), through the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation, are implementing this Vision 2030 flagship project to fulfil the long-term country’s development in areas of water, agriculture, and energy.
The programme comprises a multi-purpose dam that will provide water supply, hydropower generation, and irrigation components, besides regulating the flow of the River Athi downstream of the dam for flood control and drought mitigation.
Once complete, the dam will also supply water to Konza Technopolis City, besides serving over 1.2 million residents of Makueni, Kitui, and Machakos counties.
By Patrick Nyakundi
