Contact:
In Washington: Dina El Naggar (202) 473-3245
Delnaggar@worldbank.org In Cairo: Mariam Ahmed (011) 202-574-1670 Mahmed4@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, June 21, 2007 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a loan in the amount of $ 145 million to support the West Delta Conservation and Irrigation Rehabilitation Project. “Egypt is taking this important and pioneering step towards improving the water sector governance and financial sustainability through partnership between Public and Private sectors to design, build and operate irrigation infrastructure with support from the World Bank and other donors. We are looking forward to advance our cooperation with the Bank as a partner in our drive for achieving economic growth and prosperity for all Egyptians,” said H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Abu Zeid, Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation. The project introduces a public-private partnership model that aims at improving the livelihood and increasing the income of people in the reclaimed desert land to the West of the Nile Delta through: (i) mitigating further environmental degradation caused by excessive drawdown of the groundwater resources; and (ii) establishing a framework to support the financial sustainability of irrigation infrastructure in the region. This project is part of the broader Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Since its inception, the NBI has made progress in building capacity for basin-wide water management, and launching a significant investment portfolio to support water development. The approval of the West Delta project coincides with the approval of another World Bank-financed Irrigation and Drainage Project in Ethiopia which also represents an additional milestone in the NBI. “The lessons from the design of the West Delta Project offer new opportunities for the irrigation sector in Egypt and have already spawned new initiatives in other water scarce countries in the Nile Basin and the Middle East,”stated Aldo Baietti, World Bank Task Team Leader. “The project pioneers important sector reforms, new approaches in project development, transaction design, and substantive involvement of a private operator in the financing and operation of the irrigation system,” he added. The project will fund the design and construction of a surface water irrigation system to be implemented through a public-private contract arrangement while providing technical assistance to small farmers to increase their market share. In addition, newly established sector institutions within the project context will be developed to effectively monitor the public-private partnership introduced by the project. “The World Bank is pleased to provide the necessary technical and financial assistance to this new model of partnership demonstrating how the government, the private sector and concerned farmers can share project responsibilities, benefits and risks. “ said Emmanuel Mbi, Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. ### For more information on the World Bank’s work in Egypt, visit: http://www.worldbank.org/eg |
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