China Gezhouba-built Thwake Dam in Kenya 94% complete; ministry targets water storage by end-January 2027

Kenya's Ministry of Water and Sanitation says Thwake Dam, on the border of Kitui and Makueni counties, was 94% complete as of October 2026. The ministry's targets are to begin storing water by the end of January 2027 and to commission the dam, with President William Ruto, by the end of April 2027, the Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke reported on 25 October. The site values the project at KSh82 billion.

China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) is the main contractor for the dam's first phase.

In a statement on 24 October, the National Land Commission (NLC) said it has completed compensation for almost all people whose land was taken for the dam. The claims still open come from pending court cases and other disputes, and the commission said it is fast-tracking them.

In a notice dated 23 September 2025, the NLC said about 1,900 people were affected by the project, that most had been paid, and that 99% of the required land had been acquired. One case was pending because of an unresolved succession dispute. Its survey team was then marking boundaries on the roughly 2,867 hectares of dam land.

Water Secretary Samuel Alima said works had not gone on "for almost two years, due to lack of resources", the construction industry site Construction Review reported on 1 September. He said the government had secured KSh10.6 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB). Three items remain: the concrete phase, a bridge linking Makueni and Kitui, and the dam gates. He called the next eight months critical and said he had told the contractor to work day and night.

Ruto set the April 2027 deadline on 12 July at a church service at St Martin's Cathedral in Kitui. "We built Thwake Dam but it encountered a few challenges after the money ran out," he said, as quoted by Kenyans.co.ke.

The AfDB's board approved extra financing for the first phase, the energy industry site Energy Global reported on 18 June. It comprised a €64.20 million AfDB loan and €4.2 million from the African Development Fund. The money is for raising the dam wall, strengthening foundations and building two saddle dams. The bank puts completion of the wider programme at September 2028.

When the later phases are built, the dam is to supply up to 150,000 cubic metres of water a day to about 1.3 million people, irrigate 40,000 hectares and generate 20 megawatts of hydropower, according to the bank. The ministry has started packaging the downstream works.