The European investment Bank (EIB) is lending a total of ECU 170M for water management and industry in Egypt.
Included in this funding is the allocation of ECU 75M for the construction of a new dam and power plant on the Nile in Upper Egypt.
The new dam, which will replace an existing one built in the late 1920s, will support an irrigation system for 240,000ha of land as well as hydro power generation. Works will include a 66m-high headpond, a 170m-long navigation lock and a 310m-long, low-level public road bridge over the dam.
The hydro power component of four turbines (4x16MW), plus the power house, will also require a 220kV transmission line of 23km to connect the plant with the national grid. The project is also benefiting from grants and other financing through German-Egyptian bilateral co-operation.