AfDB grant to help improve South Sudan and Ethiopia water facility

24 May 2012

The African Water Facility will provide a €2 million (£1.6 million) grant to help provide multi-purpose water resource projects in South Sudan and Ethiopia.

That is after the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved the funding for the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office, which will use the money to develop water resources.

It hopes by doing so, there will be significant socio-economic impacts that can help reduce poverty. The project will also be introduced across three years, allafrica.com reports.

Akica Bahri, co-ordinator of the African Water Facility, told the news provider that the money could lead to a wider range of improvements in the future.

"This project is expected to lead to co-operative identification and the preparation of big investments in the field of hydropower, irrigation, and possibly navigation," she explained.

"The Facility considers this to be a project of the highest importance for Ethiopia and South Sudan, where the potential of the available untapped water resources is very promising."

It comes after the AfDB declared an interest in improving infrastructure between Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia earlier this year.

Category: Water