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{
    "id": 1012450,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1012450/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mathioya, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Peter Kimaru",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13427,
        "legal_name": "Peter Kimari Kihara",
        "slug": "peter-kimari-kihara-2"
    },
    "content": "(ii) whether the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation could confirm that the financing agreement has been signed, and why it has taken inordinate time to conclude negotiations; (iii) whether the Ministry could confirm that the first beneficiaries of the project shall be the people of Taita Taveta, and that the water will reach Wundanyi town and Kasushe locations; and, (iv) whether the Ministry could provide the project designs showing the scope of the project, and whether the residents of Taita Taveta will be given priority. Hon. Speaker, the Committee engaged the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation on the above concerns raised by Hon. Danson Mwashako. I, therefore, wish to respond as follows: (i) The Mzima II Pipeline Water Project is a Vision 2030 flagship project projected to serve approximately 1.5 million people in the counties of Makueni, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Kilifi and Mombasa. The project will be implemented through the procurement of EPC plus financing contract model. The project will be completed within a period of three years plus one-year defects liability period. The procurement was done and the project awarded to M/s Avic International Holding Corporation on 17th July 2017. The signing of the commercial contract agreement was executed after due diligence exercise and the contractor was given the green light to source for funds from China Exim Bank, the financier of the project. China Exim Bank and the Office of the Attorney-General gave no objection to the loan agreement. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, it took long for the loan agreement to be executed, leading to an expiry of the commercial contract in July 2020. The Coast Water Works Development Agency requested for an extension of one-year period to July 2021, which was granted. The Government is seeking US$335.34 million which is approximately Kshs336.3 billion - based on the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) exchange rate of 108.2129 - which was quoted by the contractor to actualise the project. In line with the financing agreement, China Exim Bank will finance 85 per cent amounting to Kshs29,030,363,937 while the Kenyan Government will finance 15 per cent of the project amounting to Kshs7,725,759,098.425 comprising of the project safeguards, the cost of the environmental social impact assessment and the resettlement action plan. On the second question by the Hon. Member, the commercial contract has been extended to July 2021. The new schedule and timelines towards signing the financing agreement is under negotiations between the National Treasury and the China Exim Bank. Once the negotiations on the financing agreement are concluded and cleared by the Attorney-General, the financing agreement will be signed to pave way for the commencement of the detailed designs and construction works of the project. On question 3, water will be supplied to communities along the pipeline corridor in order to enhance access to water and improve the well-being of the people while at the same time ensuring integrity of the pipeline. Wundanyi and Kishushe locations are at a very high elevation compared to the pipeline, approximately 1,400 metres higher. Supplying water to those areas from the pipeline will not be feasible. This is because the cost of doing so would be unsustainable due to the high operational costs that would be required. In this regard, the solution to expanding water supply to Wundanyi Town would best be served from River Wundanyi which passes next to the town. On question 4, the preliminary designs were done by Atkins in 1996 and have mostly been overtaken by time. The Cabinet Secretary suggested that the Hon. Member for Wundanyi could wait for the design review report that is expected to be one of the deliverables of the contractor. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}