ReliefWeb

Sudan and South Sudan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on water management and flood prevention in the South Sudanese capital Juba yesterday.

Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas arrived in Juba on Wednesday. At the start of the visit, the minister stated Sudan's eagerness to foster cooperation with South Sudan, especially with regards to information sharing, capacity building, monitoring of floods, and the rehabilitation of irrigation projects in the upper Nile region.

In a press statement after the signing of the MoU by Abbas and his South Sudanese counterpart Peter Manawa yesterday, the Sudanese Irrigation Minister said that South Sudan also witnessed “unprecedented” floods and revealed that both countries will cooperate to deal with these floods and their prevention.

The South Sudanese Minister of Irrigation said that the MoU includes increased cooperation in the fields of water resource management and the rehabilitation of irrigation projects in his country.

Abbas said that Sudan and South Sudan will cooperate on the rehabilitation of irrigation projects in the Upper Nile area through the repair and improvement of water pumps and irrigation canals as a 'donation' by the Sudanese government.

During the visit, Abbas also met with Advisor to the South Sudanese President, Tut Galuak.

Last year, Sudan witnessed the worst floods in 30 years. The government declared a three-month State of Emergency as more than 875,000 people were affected and 82,500 houses were completely destroyed.

**Water projects **

Earlier this month, Sudan's Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources signed a contract with the Sung Zi Long Chinese Group of Companies for the improvement of the lower doors of the Sennar Dam. According to the contract, the duration of the process will take three years and will cost an estimated 18.5 million euros.

The rehabilitation project aims to modernise 80 main gates from a manual and mechanical operational system to an electronic system.