Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Nasr Eddin Allam, on Monday will visit southern Sudan to initiate a number of Egyptian-funded development and service projects. Allam will meet with south Sudan government spokesman Paul Mayom. The projects will be executed with a US$26.6 million grant. This development comes two months before the south Sudanese referendum on secession scheduled for January 2011. The Egyptian plans include a central laboratory for water quality analysis in Juba, a principal river port in Wau, stations for measuring and monitoring water levels, and wells equipped with clean water distribution facilities in the southern provinces. The Egyptian-Sudanese Joint Technical Association for Nile Water will meet Sunday in Khartoum to coordinate the two countries' positions on shared issues and cooperation in the field of water resources development. Allam said his visit reflects Egyptian concern for the Sudanese people. He also emphasized the spirit of cooperation that exists between the two countries. The minister discussed the completion of outfitting 3 monitoring stations on Bahr al-Ghazal in southern Sudan, with costs reaching LE5 million, and 4 other stations at LE7 million. He added that the project to purify sewage water in the Bahr al-Ghazal basin is one of the principal development projects. Spending in the first phases of the projects, according to Allam, will reach an estimated LE21 million. Allam mentioned the completion of internal preparation for the central water quality analysis laboratory in Juba. The project--the first of its kind in southern Sudan--will cost an estimated LE1.6 million. The objective of the analysis is to identify sources of pollution. The grant also includes the establishment of a water pumping station in Wau, a training project to build human resources in the fields of water resource development and administration, a plan to produce topographic maps, and the distribution of research grants in Egyptian universities, Allam added. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
