The government of Kenya through the Head of State, President William Ruto has inaugurated the Thiba irrigation dam in Kirinyaga County.
The new infrastructure is a 40m tall and 1 km long dam capable of holding 15 million m3 of water. It was constructed by company Strabag International while was co-financed by the exchequer and the Japanese government through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) at an investment of US $68 million.
Boost in rice production
Strabag installed water intakes which, through pipes, convey water to irrigation systems. The infrastructure is also equipped with a spillway that will prevent flooding during the rainy season.
The dam will be used to irrigate crops such as rice, maize and vegetables. It will provide irrigation water to 5,000 households and boost rice production by 86,000 tons per year, increasing its annual value from 10 billion Kenyan shillings (about $82.6 million) to 18 billion Kenyan shillings (about $149 million) according to the President.
The dam project is part of the Mwea Irrigation Development Project (MIDP), implemented in the Mwea Irrigation System (MIS) in Kirinyaga County. Co-funded by the Kenyan central government and the JICA to the tune of US $157 million, MIDP aims to rehabilitate irrigation and drainage facilities, and improve operations and management of the systems, thereby contributing to the expansion of the irrigation area, improving the livelihoods of MIS farmers and contributing to Kenya’s food self-sufficiency.
