if you are doing an earth dam the most important equipment is the grader because you will be placing them in layers, the dumpers and rollers. tractors may even never step a foot at the site. where are you getting the water?

@sober,

Can't help but laugh kidogo ...How do you get a grader out of a 5m pit?It's impractical....I think what Bwenyenye is looking for is a backhoe or excavator.An excavator would be more ideal given the size of his pit but the price per hour is up there.

Excavator


Backhoe;

@bwenyenye,

It would depend on locality.Where i am,a backhoe goes for 8K while the excavator goes for 17K and deservedly so.That thing is a work animal.

Hi, try Moses -0714646014. He did some fish ponds for my friend in Kisaju. The charges were 5K/hr sometime last year so maybe imepanda by now. Cheers

@Bwenyenye please share notes when all done with the projects.

sorry per m3 and cost is 500 + ferrying equipment

you can also look into an option of excavating and dumping the soil at the sides of your dam wall.this however will not e able to trap any surface water but will save some costs for excavation.
when doing the damn you also want to make the walls sloping and well compacted. you could also line the walls with a membrane and cover it with cotton soil(to prevent water sippage) . only loss of water you will experience is evaporation. The works are surely going to cost you some cash.
you realise that you have also to consider cost of fencing the dam and for such volumes, you can actually do some bit of fish farming. only chalenge will be to ensure adequate water in the dam.