Government Speeds Up Work on Nyandarua Gwa Kiongo Dam Project

The government has accelerated the expansion of agricultural infrastructure in Nyandarua County with the development of the Gwa Kiongo Irrigation Project, which is situated in Mirangine Ward within Ol Kalou Constituency.

This earth dam infrastructure project will place 500 acres of agricultural land under permanent irrigation upon completion, but the construction work is being executed in two separate phases.

According to the State Department for Irrigation (SDI), the first phase will bring 250 acres under cultivation, while the subsequent phase will deliver the remaining 250 acres.

The project relies directly on the Gwa Kiongo Dam, which has a total water storage capacity of 450,000 cubic metres.

Eng. Charles Muasya, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), inspected the ongoing site installations.

Engineering works currently underway at the site include the construction of a pump house, the expansion of the concrete spillway, and the layout of a comprehensive distribution reticulation system.

Contractors have delivered large-diameter distribution pipes to the site, and workers are currently installing water storage tanks alongside a solarized pumping unit.

Principal Secretary for Irrigation Ephantus Kimotho inspected the multi-sectoral works, which are designed to support more than 1,000 farming households.

The initiative provides a reliable distribution piping network, although its primary structural objective is to allow local farmers to cultivate up to three separate cropping seasons annually.

Kimotho stated that the local infrastructure will lift the production of high-value crops, when farmers shift away from a traditional reliance on unpredictable rain-fed agriculture.

The inspection tour brought together multiple senior state officers, who are tracking the integrated agricultural and energy developments within the central region.

Principal Secretary for Energy Alex Wachira attended the site review, where engineers commissioned solar-powered irrigation pumps to assist farming operations at both Gwa Kiongo and Githunguri dams.

The integration of solar power is designed to lower local operational costs, if the agricultural cooperative maintains the pumping infrastructure independently over the long term.

Principal Secretary for Blue Economy and Fisheries Betsy Muthoni Njagi accompanied the technical team, which handed over two specialized engines and fishing boats worth five million shillings.

Officials distributed 20,000 fish fingerlings and high-quality fish feeds to local communities, because the state wants to establish functional commercial aquaculture around the reservoir.

Former Senior Economic Advisor Moses Kuria noted that these multi-sectoral interventions are funded through a broader regional infrastructure budget, which targets diverse rural wealth creation channels.

The engineering works align with the structural guidelines of the national Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which prioritizes direct food security interventions.

Kimotho revealed that the SDI has already completed a technical identification process for more than 150 colonial-era dams across Nyandarua County.

The state plans to launch a comprehensive civil rehabilitation programme for these historical reservoirs, so that the region can expand its total water harvesting capacity.

The broader engineering rehabilitation drive will systematically upgrade water storage capacity to support regional livestock production, domestic supply lines, and expanding crop irrigation networks.

Local residents welcomed the infrastructure layout, because the combination of modern piping networks and solarized pumping systems resolves historical water access challenges.

Contractors are scheduled to continue heavy civil works on the reticulation network, as the state rushes to finalize core components before the next seasonal weather changes.

The project remains a key focus for President Ruto administration, which has prioritized the expansion of local water storage infrastructure across the agricultural zones of the country.