Iran stops funding for development projects in Sudan: official

July 25, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A senior Sudanese official disclosed the government of Khartoum state has terminated its contracts with several Iranian companies implementing vital development projects in the capital.

Ahmed Gasim, minister of physical infrastructure in Khartoum said in statements on Saturday that Tehran stopped funding for major development projects in Sudan including the bridge linking Khartoum North and Tuti Island besides Abu Si’id water plant in the locality of Omdurman.

He pointed out that the former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised during his visit to Sudan in 2012 to grant a loan to build the bridge and the water station, saying the latter paid visits to the sites of the two projects.

“An Iranian company started to build the bridge but its work had stopped because Tehran didn’t inject funds,” he added.

The minister said that Khartoum state government terminated its contract with the Iranian company and is seeking to receive funding from another party.

However, Gasim didn’t mention when the Iranian government stopped funding those projects.

Sudan’s relations with Iran have soured abruptly last September when Khartoum closed the Iranian cultural centres and ordered the cultural attaché to leave the country within 72 hours.

The move came following warnings made by religious circles as well as the media about the spread of Shiite ideology among Sudanese youth after the intensification of activities by the office of the Iranian cultural attaché in Khartoum.

Since then, Sudan shifted its foreign alliances and warmed up ties with the Arab Gulf states particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Also, Khartoum accepted to join a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign against Shiite rebels in Yemen at the expense of its relation with Iran.

(ST)