The Kenya Engineer (May

It was the rst time, since the inceptionof the institution, that the Engineers wereretreating to the coastal town, Mombasa,to host their annual conference. The themeof the conference was ‘The Role of Public –Private Partnership (PPP) for Developmentof Sustainable Infrastructure’. Theconference committee through consultationwith government and private sector settledon this theme because it’s a key pillar inrealization of vision 2030. The conferencewas held at the Sarova Whitesands BeachHotel from 21

st

to 23

rd

of April.AttendanceThis was a well attended event, with over 250 registered engineers participated asdelegates; the Kenya government wasrepresented by the office of the PrimeMinister by Mr. Alfred Khang’ati, the roadsdocket was represented by the minister Mr. Franklin Bett and his PermanentSecretary Mr. Michael Kamau who is alsothe chairman of Engineers RegistrationBoard. Other professional private bodiesrepresented were Association of consultingEngineers of Kenya (ACEK) and theAssociation of Architectures of Kenya(AAK). Within East Africa the Institutionof Engineers of Uganda were represented.There was a huge presence from thecooperates, this included Bamburi cement,Athi River Mining, Tsavo Power, Rhinospecial products , E A Cables and SonySugar, among others.Opening addressThe chief guest was Prime Minister Raila

CONTENTS

News…….....…...............…......1-14People…….......….…............…....15 News.............................................16Prole............................................17IEK Conference......................18- 22Research .................................23-26Kenya’s Export Potential...... 27-28Geothermal...................................29IEK…………..........................30-32Magazine of the Institution of Engi-neers of KenyaRegistered Ofce: MOPW &HBuilding, P O Box 41346, NairobiCorrespondence should be addressedto the Institution. Kenya Engineer is published every two months. Viewsexpressed in this Journal are thoseof the writers and do not necessarilyreect those of the Institution.©Copyright: Reproduction of anyarticle in part or in full is strictly prohibited without written permissionfrom the Institution of Engineers of Kenya.

Editorial Committee:

A A McCorkindale – ChairmanF W Ngokonyo - Vice-ChairmanJ N KariukiProf M KashordaS M NgareAllan MuhaliaA W OtsienoS K KibeR MwauraJ Kimani

Published by:

Intercontinental Publishers LtdP O Box 45754 NairobiTel: 4443649/50Fax: 4443650Email: info@kenyaengineer.or.ke/ken-eng@africaonline.co.ke

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NEWS

Members of the IEK council pose for a group photograph with the Minister of Roads Mr. Franklin Bett.

MAY/JUNE

2010

Odinga who was represented by Mr. AlfredKhang’ati, the assistant minister in theoffice of the prime minister who readhis speech. The premier emphasized theimportance of objective public and private partnership. He did a comparative analysison how this has aided the development of infrastructure of other nations in the worldover with specic reference to Greece. Anexcerpt of his speech: ‘It was just about thetime of Olympic games and Greece being anancient nation was chosen to host this veryimportant games, her ancient infrastructurenotwithstanding. So, the only remedy was togo triple P by inviting a German developer on a build, own and operate arrangement.This worked on very well.’The prime minister asserted that his ofcehas already rolled out plans to reach out tothe private sector and an ongoing one isthe quarterly meeting with private sector under the auspices of Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and Kenya PrivateSector Alliance (KePSA). He reiterated thatengineers should continue to nd solutionto Kenyan problems especially in energyand transport sector. ‘One of the challengeshas been decongesting the roads in Nairobiand the solutions are obvious to engineers:having a proper working railway system, broader road networks and an organizedreliable mass transport,’ he concluded. Also present during the opening ceremony wasMr. Franklin Bett, Minister of roads. Hisspeech was more focused on challengingengineers to take position in the leadership

Institution of Engineers of Kenya holdsannual conference in Mombasa

Kenya Engineer - May/June 2010 1

NEWS

of this country. He started by addressing theenactment of the engineers act that will givethe institution powers to get money throughgrants and donations, the act will providea clause for conict resolution within the profession and allow funding from thegovernment through Engineer RegistrationBoard (ERB). He said the prime minister has been very instrumental in this and thedocument has passed through the cabinetsub-committee and will soon be presented before cabinet for approval.The minister mentioned that there have been enormous reforms in the roads sector and every Kenyan can see the results. ‘The budget allocation from the exchequer hasalso risen considerably from 13.4 billionlast year to 72 billion this year,’ said theminister. He further added that the ministryhave signed major contracts, this includedMau Summit-Kisumu road, Mariakani –Kili road, Nairobi-Thika road and the Northern and Eastern bypass.He recognized the importance of PPP bysaying that ministry expect to go into anarrangement with private sector to have Nairobi urban toll road and a toll bridge at Nyali. The ongoing PPP arrangements arethe weighing bridges in major highways. Hehowever appealed to transporters to adhereto the regulations to prolong the life spanof major roads.‘Our motto at the ministry is to deliver quality roads in time, so engineers over toyou,’ He concludedOutgoing Chairman’s speechSpeaking earlier at the ceremony theoutgoing chairman of the institution of Engineers of Kenya, Eng. F W Ngokonyowelcomed the chief guest Prime Minister Raila Odinga who was represented by Mr.Alfred Khang’ati and other guests.‘On behalf of the institution its ma esteemed pleasure to welcome the Premier, the minister,the invited guests and the participants to the2010 Engineers conference, I hereby declarethe conference ofcially opened.’The outgoing chairman further went toexplain the theme of the conference bysaying that the triple P is the way to goif only the government is keen to deliver quality services to Kenyans. In as muchas there is a variant of interest, where the private sector focuses on prot making,through government leverage and objective partnership the two can achieve their roles’,he explained. ‘I’m glad with the quarterlymeeting that is held between the PrimeMinister’s office and the private sector under the auspices of Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, ‘he added.Eng Ngokonyoobserved that theInstitution of Engineersof Kenya as a societyof professionals hasenormous potentialin the development of entire nation throughmany ways suchas participation inresearch, innovations,enhancing capacity of small firms through joint bidding and themembers’ welfare.He requested thegovernment to engageengineers in search of solutions to Kenyans problems especiallyinfrastructure. ‘For a prosperous nationengineers must beengaged in decisionmaking, formulationof policy andimplementation’ hereiterated.Finally, he thankedthe Prime Minister’soffice and entirecabinet subcommitteefor their role in passingthe new engineers act.He was optimistic thatwhen the engineersact come in force, theinstitution will benetfrom governmentfunding under theengineers registrationBoard and this willmake it possible for the institution todevelop a centre for engineers’ excellencein preparation for thevision 2030.

Conferenceresolutions

The event wasdeclared a success by the Chairman of the conference Eng JMutai, he went aheadto chair the resolutionsession, among manyissues discussedthe following were

Mr. Alfred Khang’ati, assistant minister in the ofce of the prime

minister and Minister of roads during the conference opening Outgoing Chairman F W Gokonyo takes Minister of roadsFranklin Bett through the registration process Eng F W Gokonyo, the outgoing chairman (third from right)and the incoming chairman, Eng D M Wanjau , at Rhino special products exhibition station.

resolved:Infrastructure; to decongest urban roads thegovernment in partnership with the privatesector ought to come up with an organized,regulated mode of mass transport preferably busses, secondly the railway services must

2 Kenya Engineer - May/June 2010

NEWS

The Masinga Dam wall is to be raised by 1.5metres at a cost of Sh1.1 billion. Accordingto the national power generator.The Kenya Electricity Generating Company(KenGen) said the expansion will increasethe capacity of the dam by more than 400million litres to nearly 2 billion litres. Thiswill help contain the current overflowof 125 million litres. “We already havea consultant on board to sort out theexpressions of interest and work will startas soon as the rains stop,” said Eddy NjorogeKenGen managing director. During a tour of Masinga Dam mid-May. The project willtake 14 months to complete.Mr Njoroge said the filling of the damin predictable three year cycles puts astrong case for raising Masinga Dam toenable it capture higher volumes of water during periods of above average and El Nino rains. He said increased rainfall hadenhanced the performance of hydro power stations countrywide from 2.5 gigawatthours in October 2009 to 12 gigawatt hoursa day currently. Enhanced hydropower generation had already displaced most of the expensive thermal emergency power,he said.

Masinga Dam to be raised

According to the Kenya National Bureauof Statistics, the share of hydroal domesticconsumption of electricity stood at 414.3kilowatt hours in February 2010 whichwas a decline from 484.1 kilowatt hoursin January.The managing director who wasaccompanied by KenGen’s chairman TitusMbathi said KPLC had already beeninstructed to dispatch as much electricity as possible in order to take up the increasedgeneration capacities.The water contained in the Seven Forksdams is capable of supplying the countrywith hydropower for the next one year. be upgraded or an overhaul carried out of the whole system to ease trafc, thirdly aninitiative for toll bridges and urban roadsshould be rolled out.Leadership and Legislation; the governmentshould prioritize the review of the engineersact because it shields the local engineers,has a provision for conflict resolutionamong other benets. Within the ministriesthat deal directly with the engineers or afliated to the engineers the governmentshould engage qualified engineers in policy formulation, decision making andimplementation.Energy sector; there is need for moreinvestment in energy sector particularlyalternative energy such as wind and solar,the build own operate formula should begiven a chance to give the investors valuefor their money.Engineering practice:To enhance capacity of local firm joint bidding ought to be the answer, in proceduresthe government should formulate a policyof Design and Build to enhance quality. TheInstitution of Engineers consultancy rmwill be the vehicle for competitive biddingfor contracts because of its expertise andcapacity.Training; there should be a syllabus reviewin the institutions that offer engineeringcourses, this should be done with aview to meet the market demand both in professionalism and in numbers.Closing CeremonyAfter three days of deliberation theconference was ofcially closed by theDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. In a statement read on his behalf by Mr. Chiboli I. Shabaka, who is adirector of administration in the Ministryof Finance. Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta recognizedthe importance of Public Private Partnership

Minister Franklin Bett delivering his opening address

A section view of Masinga Dam

by citing successfully implementationof such projects this included: weighing bridges by the Kenya National HighwayAuthority in the major highways, oilexploration at Isiolo, Olkaria III geothermaloperated by Orpower, Rabai power plant inMombasa, Wind power in Lake Turkana. Hefurther went to assure the participants thatthe government through his ministry were prepared to jointly fund projects with the private sector to enhance service deliveryto wananchi.

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