“We are on course in Karimenu dam construction,” says County Commissioner

Construction works on Karimenu dam is progressing well and  Kiambu County commissioner Wilson Wanyanga has lauded the contractor for the tremendous efforts he had put in place.
Wanyanga exuded confidence Wednesday that at the speed at which the contractor was moving, he would complete the project within the recommended period , and thus address shortage of water in Nairobi, Juja and Gatundu regions.
“What we are seeing here today while visiting the site is very encouraging and anybody who was here a month ago cannot believe the tremendous progress made so far. This contractor is a worker and his efforts are commendable,” remarked the county commissioner, who is the chairman of the Kiambu CDICC.
Currently, about 150 workers have already completed work on excavation of outlet tunnel, inlet tunnel and tunneling itself which involves soil and rock.
While briefing members of the County Development Implementation Committee (CDICC) on the progress, Engineer Pius Musis said they were doing a coffer dam (a small dam) which will enable them to block the river, thus enabling them to divert the water to go through the tunnel. This will also allow them to access the dry river which is actually the dam site after which they will start working on dam embankment construction which is 54 meters high.
“As these works are ongoing, construction of in-depth tower, spillway and the treatment plant (pipeline) will be going on simultaneously until 2022 May when work is scheduled to be completed,” said the Eng. Musis.
During a site tour of the Sh24 billion project Wanyanga assured residents that all was well and that their grievances would be looked into.
He instructed area Deputy County Commissioner Mr. Buxton Mayabi who welcomed him at the project to liaise with the contractor so that residents who were ready to be engaged to work at the dam are considered. “This project will actually change the social-economic standards of this place as there is so much work that residents can be engaged to do as they eke a living,” he said.
The county commissioner said employment issues were sensitive and should be extremely transparent so that people do not keep complaining that they had been sidelined when they are competent. “Let those who will avail their applications be considered by engaging the leadership at the community level who could assist in identifying the needy local people who deserved to be put on board,” he said.
At least 246 families have been affected by the ongoing construction of the project and have already moved out of their ancestral land and resettled in other parts of Kiambu County, after they were compensated by the government, in a process was effected through the National Land Commission (NLC).
By Lydia Shiloya