South Sudan irrigation minister details joint water projects with Egypt

CAIRO – 28 July 2021: South Sudan Minister of Irrigation Manawa Peter lauded Tuesday in a TV interview the Supreme Joint Egyptian-South Sudanese Committee formed following President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's visit to Juba in November.

Peter stressed the strong natural connection between Egypt and South Sudan, and that is the Nile River. He added that Egypt is also cooperating with his country in accomplishing cleaning projects in the basins of Bahr el Ghazal River and Bahr al-Jabal River as well as multipurpose water harvesting projects.

The minister stated that studies are underway to implement flood protection projects, and that Egypt has already built flood barriers at the Nile River.

Peter also noted that Egypt trained the majority of South Sudanese human resources working in the irrigation sector.  

The minister indicated that his country understands Egypt's worries about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis, and that is why it always supports the Egyptian side over the crisis.

Peter showcased that the coming conflicts globally will be over water resources. He stressed the necessity of turning such resources into a basis for integration among states; establishing the principles of fair and sensible use of water; and setting new laws that would preserve the water security of the world countries. That is by designating precise water shares for each country and banning causing harm to the water shares of each other.  

The minister commended the Vic-Med Project Egypt aspires to implement as it will allow landlocked countries, including South Sudan, to have access to coasts through the linkage between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean.

Peter added that the project will also facilitate trade between the countries the passage is passing through, and maintain their water security.

The minister said the equatorial zones in his country suffer from a water shortage given they are desert areas so Egypt and South Sudan agreed to locate the most deprived spots to extend water supply.

Peter stated that Egypt had finished the studies needed to construct Wau Dam, and that it had provided South Sudan many grants in the energy and electricity sectors given that infrastructure in some cities is still weak.

The minister shed light on other fields of cooperation so as both countries had signed protocols to develop South Sudan's agricultural sector, and fulfill certain local needs. Other protocols will be signed to increase scholarships offered by Egypt, and to upgrade airways. What's more, there is already an agreement to build a water treatment plant in South Sudan.

Peter underlined that Egypt was among the first countries that showed acceptance to South Sudan after it had got independent from Sudan, and that the Egyptian president's visit to his country reflected confidence in stability there. Similarly, he asserted that Egypt's presence in the African depth is pivotal to achieving integration among African states, and linking African countries with the Arab ones.

The minister highlighted that Egypt enjoys a high status in the hearts of South Sudanese people pointing out that many citizens of his country studied at Egyptian universities, including 70 percent of high-ranking officials.

There is also a considerable community of South Sudanese expats in Egypt, which they consider their second homeland, the minister added underscoring the role of the Egyptian film and drama industry in making Egypt close to the South Sudanese people.

Peter said that the favorite Egyptian stars among the South Sudanese are Adel Imam, Samir Ghanem, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, and George Sedhom.

In June, the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation announced that Egypt signed a technical cooperation protocol with South Sudan, to conduct feasibility studies for the construction of the multi-purpose Wau Dam in South Sudan.

The dam project will be on Siwi River, one of the main branches of the Jur River in western South Sudan, flowing through the Bahr el-Ghazal and Equatoria regions.

The multi-purpose Wau Dam project in South Sudan aims to generate 10.40 megawatts of electricity, in addition to providing drinking water to about 500,000 individuals, and water needed for supplementary irrigation for about 30-40 thousand feddans.

The ministry had carried out integrated technical and economic studies for the project with the assistance of experts from the National Water Research Center to prepare hydrological and hydraulic studies, as well as geological, geotechnical, construction and environmental studies and the work of the initial designs for the dam and its facilities.

A contract was also made with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy to assign the design work of the electrical station and its accessories and to study its economic feasibility through one of its specialized companies, which cooperated with one of the major consulting offices to prepare the required studies.

All technical and economic studies were completed and handed over to the South Sudanese side in a huge workshop held in the city of Wau.

In the same month, Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty inaugurated Wednesday an underground water treatment plant built by Egypt in South Sudan's Lemon Mountain.

The plant consists of a well lying in a depth of 100 meters, a reservoir whose capacity is 36 cubic meters, and a pump powered by solar energy. The plant is connected to public taps through pipes providing dwellers with water.

Egypt is implementing infrastructure projects in seven South Sudanese states in the sectors of electricity and water. Regarding water projects, Egypt is carrying out water pumping stations, rainwater harvesting dams, flood control projects, and river cleaning.