AFDB Impressed by Thwake Dam Development, Pushes for Additional Financing

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is on the verge of pushing for the additional 70 Million Euros financing key in completion of the first phase of Thwake Multipurpose Dam.

This was revealed after it emerged that the builders of the Vision 2030 project - being constructed at the confluence of rivers Athi and Thwake in the borders of Makueni and Kitui counties - had cleared most social and environmental bottlenecks that were key in seeking the additional finances.

Decision on additional financing for the Dam funded by the African Development Bank, will be made when the Bank’s Board meets on November 15, 2025.

Speaking during a site visit to check on the progress, the Bank’s Director General, East African Region, Alex Mubiru, said that the lender was impressed by the progress made so far by the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation and other stakeholders. 
The facility is expected to benefit at least 1.3 million residents drawn from the rural parts of the Lower Eastern counties of Makueni, Kitui and parts of Machakos.

“The Dam progress is impressive and we cannot wait to see the time when water will flow to the people of Kitui and Makueni with the road that will connect the two counties,” said the DG who was also accompanied by other Bank officials.

He noted that the Bank has been partnering with the Kenyan government for many years to build projects “such as this” and ensure they are done on schedule, with utmost quality and within the budget despite of emerging challenges.

The DG was optimistic that when his team presents the Thwake case to the AfDB Board “we will get the financing necessary to complete the remaining works for phase one” even as the Bank prepares to engage the Government on the remaining three phases of the program. 
“As a Bank, we have a duty to finish a job we started. Our relationship with Kenya spans many years and the latter is a critical shareholder of the Bank,” the DG further stated.
Water Secretary Eng. Samuel Alima, while addressing the meeting, said that the Ministry embarked on concrete face slabbing mid last month. 
“We approached AfDB to get us additional resources ahead of the meeting by the Board in November. Once we get the resources, we will have at least eight months of construction with three key areas such as the concrete face, construction of Kitui-Makueni link road and bridge, placing the hydromechanical equipment, and the gates,” Alima said.
He added that once all is done, pounding of water into the dam will commence during the October-November rains next year. This will also provide the avenue for discussion and funding of the critical phases remaining like irrigation, power generation and water supply components. 
The Dam, considered to be the second largest water reservoir in the country, will critically transform the socio-economic enterprise of the region which has suffered rampant water scarcity for decades. Drought and famine, have severely affected millions of residents – especially women and children. 
Phase 1 which is currently at advanced stage, involves construction of an 80.5m high multi-purpose dam with storage capacity of 688 million cubic metre and associated preliminary works.

It is an embankment dam covering an area of around 9,217 acres, with catchment spanning about 10,276 km2.

The second phase, will see development of water supply, sanitation and waste water infrastructure to supply an estimated 150,000 m3/day of treated water to approximately 1.3 million people drawn from the rural areas of Kitui and Makueni counties and Konza Techno City in Machakos County.
The third phase will see development of hydropower generation system with an installed capacity of approximately 20 MW, while the last phase will entail development of irrigation scheme for 40,000 hectares of land.