Kuwait extends $212m loan for Sudan’s Roseires Dam
January 6, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – A USD 212 million loan agreement was signed on Sunday between a Kuwaiti fund for development and the Sudanese government to finance the additional projects of Roseires Dam in eastern Sudan.
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) will extend Sudan a 58-million Kuwaiti Dinar loan for heightening the Roseires Dam, located on the Blue Nile about 500 kilometers south-east of the Sudanese capital.
The agreement was signed today in Khartoum by Sudanese Minister of Finance al-Zubair Ahmed al Hassan and KFAED Chairman and Director General Abdellatif Youssef Al-Hamad,
The initial capacity of the dam is 3.4 md. c.m. however the accumulated silt in the dam lakes has reduced the storage capacity by 25%. The project aims to heighten Roseires dam to increase the storage capacity to 7.3 md. c.m.
There is another two dams on the Blue Nile Sennar (1md cm) and Khashm el-Girba Dam (1.3md.cm).
Addressing the signing ceremony, the Sudanese Minister underscored the importance of the project that will boost electricity generating. Al-Hassan appreciated the KAFED contribution to the project that started almost 25 years ago.
For his part, al-Hamad said that the KAFED is a continuous partner in the project as well as the other vital road projects in the huge country for the sake of economic and social development.
The Kuwaiti Fund’s contribution to the Marwi Dam and the road and infrastructure projects.
The loan, totaling to USD 338 million the KAFED’s contributions to the financing of Sudanese projects, is to be paid over 25 years after a six-years grace period.
(ST)