Nairobi — The Kenyan Government plans to build 16 large dams in the next 10 years to address the perennial water shortage in the country, Water minister Charity Ngilu said on Saturday.

The minister said the planned dams with a capacity of 405 billion litres will cost Sh59 billion. Speaking on a visit to Chemususu dam in Koibatek District, Mrs Ngilu said Kenya is the most water-deficient country in the region.

But she said the government was determined to change this state of affairs. She revealed that her ministry had already prepared a water storage strategy which will soon be forwarded to the Cabinet for approval.

The stored water will be used for agricultural irrigation, domestic use, and livestock and for power generation, the minister said.

Noting that 75 per cent of rain water goes to waste every year, Mrs Ngilu said mechanisms were being put in place to ensure runoff water is stored. "I am shocked because water starts here and ends up in River Nile where Egypt uses it for irrigation," she said.