Kisumu: The government is considering placing the stalled Sh19.9 billion Koru-Soin multipurpose dam under the newly created Infrastructure Development Fund to unlock its financing once and for all, Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of the Government Delivery Unit (GDU) Eliud Owalo has said. Speaking during an inspection tour of the site in Kisumu County accompanied by national and county officials, implementing agencies, and local leaders, Owalo stated that the State aims to move the project from years of delays to a clear and irreversible completion path by securing a substantial capital injection through an infrastructure bond.
According to Kenya News Agency, Owalo emphasized that the project could no longer rely on the annual fiscal space, which can only manage about Sh1 billion annually. He suggested that it would take nearly 20 years to complete the project at that pace, recommending that Koru-Soin be listed for consideration under the infrastructure development fund to secure monumental financing at once. The tour was intended to verify the dam’s true status and jointly confront the challenges that had caused work to stall.
The State made an initial Sh500 million down payment when the contractor was mobilized in 2022, and preliminary works were launched. However, the contractor is currently owed Sh890 million in certified but unsettled bills, leading to a halt in operations. Owalo mentioned that the contractor has certificates totaling Sh890 million, and work has stalled. The purpose of the visit was to explore how the contractor could return to the site while tapping into the Infrastructure Development Fund.
The State Department for Water has already requested Sh900 million from the National Treasury as an immediate intervention measure. Half of these funds will go to the contractor to partially clear pending certificates, while the remaining half will be used for land compensation. A total of Sh2.2 billion is required to complete payments for affected landowners in Kisumu and Kericho counties. Owalo emphasized that compensation will continue as work resumes.
Once completed, the dam is expected to deliver three major benefits: eliminating perennial flooding in the Nyando basin by storing water from upstream, supplying 72,000 cubic meters of water daily to residents of Kisumu and Kericho, and supporting irrigation on 11,000 hectares of farmland. It will also generate 2.5 MW of electricity that can be fed into the national grid.
Owalo also directed county commissioners for Kisumu and Kericho to convene an expanded stakeholder forum involving affected landowners, county governments, the National Land Commission (NLC), local leaders, the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority, and agencies such as Kenya Electricity Generation Company (KenGen), Kenya Power, and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). This forum aims to harmonize compensation issues, access roads, and future phases of construction.
He insisted that Koru-Soin remain a priority project for the Kenya Kwanza administration and that the proposed infrastructure bond presents the most sustainable path to reviving it. Owalo expressed the intention to pursue the project to a logical conclusion within the current government’s tenure.
Despite efforts to mobilize financing, Owalo raised concerns over systemic problems slowing infrastructure projects nationwide. He criticized contractors for taking on more projects than they could execute, often using multiple proxy companies to win several tenders, only to spread themselves too thin and stall works. Political interference was also highlighted, with some politicians influencing procurement processes and shielding non-performing contractors, thereby undermining delivery.
Owalo stressed that politicians should leave construction to qualified professionals and warned that contractors who fail to deliver after being paid would be recommended for blacklisting. The delivery unit will continue verifying all government projects to ensure that reports submitted to Nairobi match ground realities and enforce corrective action where necessary.
Following the dam visit, the team also inspected the Mamboleo-Miwani-Chemelil road, the Kabonyo-Kanyagwal fisheries project, affordable housing sites in Kisumu, and the Kisian Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) market.
