China Jiangxi Economic and Technical Cooperation Co., Ltd (CJIC) has signed a Sh20 billion contract to build the much-delayed Koru-Soin dam in western Kenya.
The Chinese firm won the Soin Koru dam tender after submitting a Sh20 billion quote for the project – which is 33% less than what the State had planned to spend on the venture.
“On 11th May, Kenya National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority (NWHSA) awarded the contract for construction of the Koru-Soin dam project to CJIC,” China Jiangxi said.
The signing of the deal now paves the way for the immediate ground-breaking of the project that has remained in the works for decades.
NWHSA, the implementing agency, had in June 2020 invited tenderers to make their offers for the project that will be located in Kisumu and Kericho counties.
However, the State was mid Aug. 2020 forced to re-advertise the tender after most bidders were declared “non-responsive” for failing to meet the requirements.
Disqualified
CK reported that the only bidder who met the requirements was disqualified after quoting Sh36 billion – a figure that was way above the government’s budget of Sh32 billion.
The fresh bids were opened on Sept. 18, 2020.
The Koru-Soin Dam, whose studies were started in 1982 by Italy and taken over by the Kenyan government in 2009, will be located in Nyando and Ainamoi sub-counties across River Nyando – about 5km upstream of Muhoroni town.
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The dam will store up to 93.7 million cubic metres and supply about 72,000 cubic metres of water daily for domestic and institutional use, as well as irrigation of 2,570 hectares of land.
The Soin Koru Dam will also generate 5.0 megawatts of hydropower.
“The proposed position for embankment is the slopes of Got Alila hill in Muhoroni (Kisumu County) and slopes of Koitatui hill in Soin (Kericho County).
“An area of 2,500 acres will be acquired for the project with parcels of land in both Kericho and Kisumu counties,” NWHSA says in official documents.
Impacts of floods
The dam, which is expected to alleviate the impacts of floods in the lower reaches of River Nyando, will be done in two components: dam component and water supply component.
The government, which is fully funding the project, expected the dam component – consisting of the reservoir, hydropower plant and the raw water module – to cost Sh25 billion, inclusive of the land acquisition bill of Sh2 billion.
The water supply component, which includes water treatment works, distribution pipework, and storage tanks was estimated to cost Sh7 billion, pushing the total cost to Sh32 billion.
The Soin Koru Dam is one of the Vision 2030 flagship dams.
Others include Maruba Dam in Machakos (completed), Chemususu Dam in Baringo (completed), Kiserian Dam in Kajiado (completed), and Siyoi Dam in West Pokot (on-going).
NWHSA earlier said it had held adequate participation forums with various stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of the Koru Soin Dam project.
