Infrastructure
Northern Collector Tunnel Set for March 2020 Completion
The facility features an 11.8km water diversion channel from River Maragua to Ndakaini Dam.
Work on the Sh6.8 billion Northern Water Collector Tunnel project in Murang’a is scheduled for completion in March 2020, gifting Kenya its longest water-gathering passageway.
The tunnel, whose drilling got underway in February 2015, is designed to boost water levels at the Ndakaini Dam while increasing water supply to Nairobi by 140 million litres a day.
The Northern Water Collector Tunnel comprises an 11.8km-long 3.2m-wide water diversion tunnel from River Maragua to Ndakaini Dam and the project is hailed as unique in Kenya.
China Gezhouba Group Company is undertaking the project under the supervision of the Athi Water Services Board.
According to Athi Water chief executive Mwangi Thuita, the tunnel will solve the challenge of transporting water across a difficult terrain.
“Some places are 250m high and that would be quite challenging to pump water up and down unlike the tunnel which can transport and pump water in a challenging terrain,” he said.
The excavation of the tunnel, says China Gezhouba Group Company’s project engineer Dong Qide, involves the construction of three intakes of Maragua, Gikigie and Irate – all of which are being completed in strict adherence to Kenya’s environmental laws and policies.
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About 40 per cent of flood water from the three rivers will be captured and diverted to the tunnel and then to Ndakaini Dam before being piped to Nairobi.
The Northern Water Collector Tunnel became the subject of a heated debate in 2016 after opposition leader Raila Odinga alleged that the project would badly destroy the environment.
Mr Odinga, who described the project as a “tunnel of death” asked the government to terminate the development – arguing that the facility would turn seven counties into deserts.
The government, however, slammed the allegations saying that the scheme’s uprightness was above board and that an official environmental assessment study had sanctioned the World Bank-funded project.
Quick facts:
- Contractor: China Gezhouba Group Company
- Total cost: Sh6.8 billion
- Tunnel length: 11.8 kilometres
- Tunnel diameter: 3.2 metres
Watch the below video of the project, courtesy of Athi Water.
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