The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has agreed to provide KWD50m ($170m) to the Government of Egypt for the construction of Bahr Al Baqar Water Drainage System Project.
Image: Egypt, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Ahmed Mohammed Abdul-Moniem Nasr and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Director-General Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Bader signing the loan agreement. Photo: Courtesy of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
The project aims to meet the expected demand for agricultural water, contribute to environmental protection of Lake Al Manzala, while creating 100,000 new jobs.
The project will include the construction of civil and mechanical facilities, where about 5 million cubic meters per day of water will be diverted from three drainage systems Bahr Al Baqar, Shadr Azam and Om Al Reesh. This water will be treated at a new treatment plant facility with capacity of about 5 million cubic meters per day that will be constructed east of Suez Canal.
It will also include reclamation of about 330 thousand acres of agriculture lands, in addition to 70 thousand acres currently cultivated, bringing the total cultivated land to 400 thousand acres. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
The project is expected to contribute towards achieving the Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals of achieving clean water and sanitation by increasing the efficiency of water use in the agricultural sector.
The loan is expected to cover 21.2% of the basic cost not including agricultural components. The Fund is also planning to participate in providing additional financing through a second and a third Loan.
This loan will be extended for a term of 25 years including a grace period of 6 years. This is the 48th loan given by Kuwait Fund for the financing of projects in Egypt. Till now, Kuwait Fund has invested a total of KWD923.1m ($3.14bn) in Egypt.
The Fund has also provided 17 grants and technical assistance allocations to the country with a total amount of KWD3.9m ($11m) allocated for financing technical and economic feasibility studies for certain projects, while financing other activities.