Kenyan President Unveils Plaque for Karimenu Water Supply Project

On August 1, a grand unveiling and celebration ceremony of the Karimenu Water Supply Project undertaken by the AVIC INTL was held, for which the Export-Import Bank of China provided financial loan support and the China Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE) provided policy insurance. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta came to the scene to unveil plaque for the project together with Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian.

In his speech, President Kenyatta praised Karimenu Water Supply Project for greatly improving the water consumption situation in Nairobi and surrounding satellite towns, and thanked Chinese enterprises for their hard work. Ambassador Zhou Pingjian said that in recent years, within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China-Kenya infrastructure cooperation has been at the forefront of China-Africa cooperation, and the win-win cooperation between China and Africa has been fully reflected in Kenya.

The Karimenu Water Supply Project is a flagship project for Kenya to achieve its Vision 2030 development plan. Since the project started constructing in 2019, the project management team has overcome many difficulties such as the impact of epidemic situation, personnel dispatch, and cost increase, and the project has now entered the delivery stage in an all-round way.

This project offers nearly 2,000 jobs. A large number of local Kenyan employees are employed and accept trainings on skills, operation, and maintenance. Meanwhile, local procurement of the building materials promotes the economic development of the surrounding counties.

Karimenu Water Supply Project adopts the Chinese standards and technologies that are beneficial to environmental health, and cooperates with Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute in many advanced technologies, processes, and construction methods in this field. The concept of "smart water" first applied in Kenya has been widely praised by the Kenyan government and people. Upon completion of the project, the water consumption of residents in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and its surrounding towns has been greatly improved, benefiting more than 1 million people, and having a far-reaching significance.