President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday afternoon arrived in Makueni County to inspect the ongoing construction of the Thwake Multipurpose Water Development Program (TMWDP).

Uhuru landed at Thwake Dam minutes past noon in a military chopper to be welcomed by the governors of the three Ukambani region counties of Machakos, Makueni and Kitui.

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The Sh42 billion project is being done by the Kenya government through the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation with Phase 1 expected to be completed by November 2022.

The project being done by the China Gezhouba Group will accommodate water supply, hydropower generation, irrigation development, flooding control and drought mitigation.

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PHOTO/PSCU

Uhuru touted the dam, which is 56 per cent complete, as 10 times the size of Ndakaini dam and will be completed by June 2022 to benefit 1.3 million residents of Kitui and Makueni counties.

Speaking at the site, the president said pollution which is upstream that is causing health concerns on the project will be dealt with by the Nairobi Metropolitån Services (NMS).

PHOTO/PSCU

Uhuru was joined in the Thwake trip by ODM leader Raila Odinga, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and governors Charity Ngilu (Kitui), Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni).

The visit comes a week after the President Kenyatta postponed his planned visit to the Ukambani region following political wrangles over the trip by a section of Ukambani leader.

PHOTO/PSCU

President Kenya later visited the Sh800 billion Konza Technopolis, a key flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic development portfolio also located in Makueni County.

Raila Odinga. PHOTO/PSCU

The world-class city is set to be powered by a thriving information, communications and technology (ICT) sector, superior infrastructure and business friendly governance systems.