Khartoum | Monday
SUDAN’S government received its first aid from the governmental Kuwaiti Development Fund since the 1991 Gulf War on Sunday with a $100-million dollar loan to finance a dam on the Nile river.
The loan, repayable over 28 years at two percent interest with a seven-year grace period, will help finance the $800-million Meroe Dam project located north of Khartoum, Sudanese Finance Minister Abdel Rahim Hamdi told reporters.
The dam’s 1 250 megawatt power station and the electrical distribution system will cost another $750-million, Hamdi said.
“I hope the agreement will herald the resumption of cooperation between Sudan and the fund, long discontinued,” Hamdi said.
Sudan’s relations with Kuwait turned frosty following the 1991 Gulf War, during which Kuwait accused Sudan of supporting Iraq’s invasion of the emirate, but their ties have improved significantly in recent years.
Work on the project will start next January and is scheduled to last five years, Hamdi said.
The project will also receive financial assistance from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Hamdi said. – AFP