President William Ruto has announced that construction of the Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeyo Marakawet County will resume.
The head of state told reporters on Tuesday that the projects will resume following negotiations with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella.
Dr Ruto said that the two countries had agreed to drop their legal suits related to the failed project.
“I am happy to report that Government of Kenya and Government of Italy have agreed; in fact, the process of sorting the matters in court has started in earnest. The Kenyan government will withdraw the cases filed against the companies and the Government of Italy and the contractors will also withdraw the arbitration cases,” said President Ruto.
Read: Former Treasury CS Henry Rotich Charged Afresh In Ksh63 Billion Arror, Kimwarer Dams Saga
The project was canceled by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019 and thereafter the prosecution of former Treasury CS Henry Rotich, former KVDA Managing Director David Kimosop and seven others.
They were charged with conspiracy to defraud the Government of Kenya of Ksh.56,360,501,604.
The president also noted that Kenya will receive up to Sh13,905,210,450 from the Italian government in form of grants and soft loans to cover agriculture, development of MSMEs, housing and urban settlements and health projects.
“Other projects include the digital superhighway and the creative economy,” he said.
Read Also: DPP Dismisses as Fake Letter Listing Ruto as Key Witness in Arror, Kimwarer Dams Case
Ruto said the projects will be done through the Kenya-Italy Multi annual five-year cooperation strategy on sustainable development.
“We committed to cooperate in enhancing our informal settlements redevelopment program launched by both counties,” he said.
Mattarella is in Kenya for four days. The discussions between the two nations will be aimed at enhancing bilateral collaboration.
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