Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt has completed the rehabilitation of 1,804 kilometres (km) of irrigation canals in 20 governorates, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel Ati, revealed. 

The ministry allocated EGP 18 billion for the rehabilitation of 7,790 km of canals as part of the first phase of the canal rehabilitation and lining project, expected to be complete by mid-2022, Abdel Ati said in a statement on Monday. 

The project is aimed at rationalising the use of water resources, the minister noted during his visit to Assiut Governorate where he inspected several irrigation projects as part of the presidential initiative of Haya Karima (A Decent Life) initiative.

In Assiut, 63 canals are being lined and rehabilitated with lengths of 285 km and at a cost of EGP 835 million, Governor Essam Saad said, noting that 750 km of canals are targeted to be rehabilitated at a cost of EGP 2.5 billion in the second phase which will start in 2022 and extend for three years.