Egypt starts second stage of water cooperation with South Sudan, digs three wells

(english.ahram.org.eg)

The three wells are planned to provide water to the underground water plants at Kabu, Kabori and Rajaf villages in the west of the country, a statement released by Egypt's Ministry of Irrigation said.

Another seven underground drinking water stations will be constructed at seven Sudanese outlying rural areas, with each station having a 100-metres-deep well equipped with a solar-power pumping system and a water tank with a capacity of 36 cubic metres, the statement said.

Each of the seven stations will provide drinking water to up to 2,000 residents of Sudanese villages, the statement added.

The first stage of the cooperation project included the digging of six underground wells in Juba, in addition to constructing river sidewalks to facillitate travel between the main cities and villages in South Sudan.

The first stage also included installing a lifting unit to pump river waters to the population centres near the waterways in Wau city, in South Sudan, to provide clean drinking water for citizens, the statement noted.

Egypt's irrigation ministry has also contributed to preparing technical and economic feasibility studies of the multi-purpose Wau Dam project in South Sudan, added the statement.

In July, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi pledged during a meeting with South Sudanese Vice President for Economic Affairs James Wani Igga in Cairo that Egypt would continue to offer technical assistance to South Sudan in all fields.

Igga's visit to Egypt witnessed the signing of several agreements to boost cooperation between the two countries.

The agreements included a memo signed by Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati and his South Sudanese counterpart Manawa Peter on a study to reduce the risk of flooding in the Sudd swamp in South Sudan.

The Egyptian and South Sudanese trade ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding to promote trade and industry between the two countries.

Abdel-Ati said cooperation with the Nile Basin countries and African countries is one of the main axes in Egyptian foreign policy.

As Egypt possesses human capabilities and technical and institutional expertise in the field of water resources, Abdel-Ati said, Egypt contributes to several projects that directly benefit the African countries via either achieving sustainable development or helping raise the standard of living of the African citizens.

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