Upper Atbara and Stait Dams Complex

A loan agreement for KD 50 million was signed in Khartoum on 28 March 2011 between the Government of the Republic of Sudan and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development to help finance the Upper Atbara and Stait Dams Complex.

The loan agreement was signed by H.E. Mr. Ali Mahmoud Mohammed Abdul Rasool, Minister of Finance and National Economy, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Sudan, and by H.E. Mr. Abdlatif Yousef Al Hamad, Director General/Chairman of the Board of Directors, on behalf of the Arab Fund.

The project aims to regulate and utilize the waters of the Upper Atbara and Stait Rivers by constructing two connected dams, as well as two hydroelectric power plants that are located about 20 kilometers away from the junction of the two rivers. This will contribute to the development of the eastern region of the Republic of Sudan through increased agricultural and electrical production. The additional water provided by the project will be used to intensify agricultural production on the land that is prepared to be irrigated by the existing Khashm Al-Qirba Dam, located in the New Halfa area, and the development of agriculture on the land that will be prepared for irrigation in the Upper Atbara territory.

The project includes the following main components:

1 – Rumaila and Berdana Dams

2 – Hydroelectric and Electric Works

3 - Technical Services

4 - Land Acquisition and Population Resettlement

5 –Management of Project Implementation

The loan will carry interest at 2.5% per annum and will be repayable over 25 years with a 5-year grace period.

This loan was signed along with another loan. With the singing of these two loans, the Arab Fund's total contribution to financing projects in the Republic of Sudan now amounts to KD 526 million.