Cairo - A grant agreement was signed today in Cairo between the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, whereby the Kuwait fund provide a grant in the amount of one hundred thousand Kuwaiti Dinars (KD 100,000), (equivalent to five million Egyptian Pounds) to begin the implementation of the pilot Project Utilizing Organic & Bio Farming Technology in Oil-Crops in Northern Sinai Governorate. The agreement was signed on behalf of the government of Egypt by Her Excellency Dr Sahar Ahmed Mohammed Abdul- Moniem Nasr, the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, and on behalf of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development by Abdulwahab Ahmed Al- Bader, Director-General of the Fund. The project aims to improve farmers' income level, and finding new marketing outlets, and increase the country's revenue from the agricultural national income, by increasing exports of oil crops, so as to contribute to the North Sinai development. The project will be implemented in East Qantara Research Station (188 hectares) and Research Station Baloza (200 hectares) on a tributary of the Al-Salam Canal in northern Sinai, a subsidiary of the Egyptian Desert Research Center. It is worth mentioning that the number of development finance extended by the fund to Egypt are 43 loans with a total amount of about KD 815 million equivalent to about $2.77 billion to finance projects in various sectors. Also, a loan agreements was signed today in Cairo between the government of Egypt and Kuwait fund for Arab Economic Development whereby, the Fund will make a second loan of Kuwaiti Dinars 18.5 million (equivalent to about $55 Million) to assist in financing the Construction of a Sea Water Desalination Plant Project for Eastern Port Said City. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that in extending its loans and developmental assistance, Kuwait Fund depends exclusively on its own resources. The agreement was signed on behalf of the government of Egypt by Her Excellency Dr Sahar Ahmed Mohammed Abdul- Moniem Nasr, the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, and on behalf of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development by Abdulwahab Ahmed Al- Bader, Director-General of the Fund. Demand The project aims at meeting the expected demand for potable water, whether for drinking or commercial and industrial uses, in the new Eastern Port Said City which is currently under construction. The project involves the construction of a sea water desalination plant with a production capacity of 150,000 cubic meters per day, using the technology of reverse osmosis, together with structures for the intake of sea water and disposal of used water designed for a plant of a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters per day to take account of future expansion in the production capacity of the desalination plant. The project includes all civil works required for the desalination plant and the construction of the networks for transmission and distribution of water, with a total length of about 700 kms, as well as the storage tanks required for the said networks, fittings, measurement and control equipment, all electrical and mechanical works required for the operation of the desalination plant. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. The loan represents the 44th loan made by Kuwait fund for the financing of projects in Egypt, as the fund has previously made 43 loans to the government of Egypt or to entities which are subordinate to it, to finance projects in various sectors, with a total amount of about Kuwaiti Dinars 815 million (equivalent to about $2.77 billion).
