The government has terminated a privately initiated proposal by Portuguese firm Elevolution Engenharia, S.A. to develop the Thuci Dam Project in Embu County, paving the way for an alternative procurement process.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Committee terminated the proposal during its meeting on August 26, 2026, after considering a due diligence report and its overall assessment of the project.

Elevolution Engenharia had submitted the proposal to develop the Thuci Dam through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Following the decision, the committee directed the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to consider an alternative procurement route for implementing the project in accordance with the PPP Act.

📌 What You Need to Know

It directed the Ministry to update the project's feasibility studies, identify the necessary funding, and secure an adequate budgetary allocation for the project's procurement.

"PPP Committee, at its 61st Ordinary Meeting held on August 26, 2026, considered the due diligence report and resolved to terminate the privately initiated proposal submitted by Elevolution Engenharia, S.A.," the ministry revealed in a notice dated September 15, 2026.

The government initially received the proposal in May 2025 from the Portuguese firm and two others for the dam's construction at Ksh700 million.

The companies submitted the proposal under the PPP framework, with the Water and Irrigation Ministry subsequently conducting a preliminary due diligence exercise before forwarding it to the PPP Directorate for assessment.

According to the notice, the PPP Directorate submitted its findings and recommendations to the PPP Committee, which granted conditional approval for the project to proceed to the Project Development Phase in February 2026.

The Ministry then undertook physical due diligence in accordance with the conditions attached to the committee's approval and submitted the findings and recommendations to the PPP Directorate.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke