Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Minister of Transport, Kamel El-Wazir, said that the Lake Victoria-Mediterranean Sea linking project will be a vital waterway for transport between Nile Basin countries. 

During a Cairo Water Week, the minister noted that the first phase of the feasibility studies of the project has been completed with a grant worth $650,000 from the African Development Bank (AfDB), according to a statement on Monday. 

These studies were approved by the steering committee in October 2018 which recommended the establishment of two units to manage the project in the next phase. 

The first unit is based in Egypt and includes the countries of the main river, namely Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda, while the second unit is based in Uganda and includes the tributaries of the river, namely Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. 

Egypt is currently looking for sources to finance the second phase of the feasibility studies of the project with a value of $11.7 million, El-Wazir noted.