Egypt allocates LE 40B to achieve 10bcm/yr of water

CAIRO – 12 August 2018: Egypt allocated LE 40 billion in the urgent plan of 2018/2021 to achieve a water yields of 10 billion cubic meters per year, Head of Administrative Control Authority Mohamed Arfan revealed during the inauguration of the New Assiut barrage project.

Arafan clarified that this amount is different from the allocations for 2014/2015 projects in addition to solar energy projects with the development of the course of the Nile River, and the development of covered drainage systems.



He added that the state adopted an ambitious reform program, noting that the positive results of these reforms started to show up.

“Supporting the investment and construction wheel is one of the most important determinants of economic reform,” he pointed.

Egypt embarked on a bold economic reform program in 2014 that includes floating its currency; losing about 50 percent of its value, cutting energy subsidies and introducing new taxes to cut the budget deficit.

Head of Administrative Control Authority also reviewed the stages of the construction of Sohag National Museum, noting that the museum’s idea came in implementation out of the state’s strategy to maintain the level, development and encourage Nile tourism.

“The foundation stone of the Sohag Museum was laid in 1989 until the president's instructions were to complete the project. It was completed on an area of 870 square meters at a total cost of LE 72 million,” Arfan stated.

Regarding the Grand Egyptian Museum, he said that it will be built on an area of 117 feddans, accommodating 5 million visitors annually, and will be opened in 2020, to be a pyramid IV.

The general supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum Tarek Tawfik (GEM) revealed earlier that the partial opening of the museum will be in the first quarter of 2019.

Tawfik explained that GEM’s first stage will be completed by the end of 2018. The Grand Egyptian Museum will witness for the first time the display of all Tutankhamun’s artifacts gathered in one place which amount to more than 5,000 pieces.

GEM’s lobby will host the statue of King Ramesses II and the column of his son King Merneptah, the grand staircase will include 87 royal statues and large architectural elements including a statue of Kings Khafre, Menkaure, Senusret, Akhenaten and Amenhotep III.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrived Sunday to Assiut Governorate to inaugurate the new Assiut barrage project; which is considered to be the third largest water project on the Nile, after the High Dam and Naga Hammadi barrage.

The new project was implemented by a consortium of international and national companies with a total cost of LE 6 billion.

It will contribute to improving the irrigation situation in an area of 1.65 million feddans in five governorates and developing the river navigation through the establishment of two marine locks (water navigations) at the highest technical level.

The New Assiut barrage includes a hydroelectric power station that produces 32 megawatts, which amounts to LE 100 million annually.

It is located 400 meters away from the old Assiut barriers, containing two navigation locks on the right side of the Nile, and eight slots of 17-meter-width with semi-diagonal gates, divided into three slots on the right side of the power station and the other five are on the left side of the power station, allowing water to flow to the other side throughout the year according to different needs.