Egypt to spend $10bn to upgrade irrigation

Egypt plans to spend an initial 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($10.5bn) to upgrade the country's irrigation network, media reported on Tuesday, citing the agriculture minister.

Countries along the Nile will need more water as their populations grow, a development which could affect Egypt's share of the river's flow, al-Mal quoted the minister, Amin Abaza, as saying. The plan will take 10 to 15 years and involve 5 million feddans (4.8m acres) of traditional farming areas, the report said. It will be financed by the government and banks at a reduced interest rate of 6 per cent.The government is also working to reclaim an additional 3m feddans of desert land by 2017, Abaza added.Officials at the ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya signed a new agreement in May to alter historic sharing arrangements for the Nile's waters, a deal Egypt has said it opposes.