A Loan Agreement was signed today in the city of Cairo between the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, whereby the Fund will make a loan of Kuwaiti Dinars 29 Million (equivalent to about US$ 98.6 Million), to the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt to assist in the financing of the Construction of Five Desalination Plants Project in the Governorate of South Sinai.
The Loan Agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt by Her Excellency Dr. Sahar Ahmed Mohammed Abdul-Moniem Nasr, the Minister of International Cooperation, and on behalf of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development by Mr. Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Bader, Director-General of the Fund.
The Project aims at meeting the demand for potable water in some towns in the Governorate of South Sinai and in existing residential settlements and other settlements to be established near these towns within the framework of the Program of the Government of Egypt for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Project consists of the Construction of five plants for the desalination of water from the Red Sea in Southern Sinai and other related works. One of the plants, which is to be located in the town of El Tor, will have a production capacity of 20,000 cubic meters per day, while the other plants to be located in Ras Sidr, Abu Zenima, Dahab and Nuwaiba, will each have a production capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day. The Project encompasses the necessary works for supplying the desalination plants with electricity and the installation of pipelines with a total length of about 42 Km. and diameters ranging between 500 and 800 millimeters for transmission of the desalinated water to storage tanks in the aforementioned towns as well as pipelines with a total length of about 183 Km and diameters ranging between 200 and 500 millimeters for transmission of water from those tanks to the residential settlements near the aforesaid towns. In addition, the Project includes the construction of 8 pumping stations and the necessary networks for distribution of water inside the residential settlements. The Project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
The total cost of the Project is estimated at about Egyptian Pounds 1 Billion, equivalent to about Kuwaiti Dinars 33.56 Million, and of which about Egyptian Pounds 881 Million, equivalent to about Kuwaiti Dinars 29.45 Million will be in foreign exchange, representing about 88% of the total cost of the Project. The Fund's Loan will cover about 98.47% of the foreign exchange costs of the Project (equivalent to about 86.4% of the total costs of the Project).
The Loan will be for a term of 25 Years, including a grace period of 5 Years, and is to be repaid in 40 semi-annual instalments, the first of which will be due on the first date on which interest or other charges on the Loan will fall due in accordance with the Loan Agreement, after the expiration of the said grace period. The Loan bears interest at the rate of 1.5% per annum, in addition to a service charge of 0.5% per annum to meet administrative costs and other expenses related to the implementation of the Loan Agreement.
This loan represents the 42nd loan made by Kuwait Fund for the financing of projects in the Arab Republic of Egypt, as the Fund has previously made 41 loans to the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt or to entities which are subordinate to it, to finance projects in various sectors, with a total amount of about Kuwaiti Dinars 751 Million (equivalent to about US$ 2.533 Billion). The Fund also provided nine grants and technical assistance allocations to Egypt with a total amount of about Kuwaiti Dinars 2.99 Million (equivalent to about US$ 10.17 Million) allocated for financing technical and economic feasibility studies for certain projects, and financing other activities. Kuwait Fund also administered two Grants provided by the Government of the State of Kuwait to the Arab Republic of Egypt with a total amount of about Kuwaiti Dinars 4.8 Million (equivalent to about US$16.8 Million) for the purpose of reconstruction of some schools that were affected by earthquake in 1992, and the reconstruction of some villages that were damaged by floods in 1995.
