Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan consulted with Sudan to modify the amount of its grant aid of  4,087 million yen to 4,328 million yen ($43 million) for “Kosti City Water Purification Plant Facility Improvement Plan.” 

This change of amount is due to circumstances, such as extension of construction period due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the foreign ministry in Tokyo said.

The agreement was reached at a meeting held on Feb. 28  in Khartoum, between Takashi Hattori, Ambassador of Japan to Sudan, and Jibril Ibrahim Muhammad Fedale, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.

Kosti, which has the largest population in White Nile in southern Sudan, is seeing an increase in water supply demand due to the influx of evacuees from South Sudan and Darfur, while the existing waterworks are significantly deteriorated.

The waterworks improvement is an urgent issue to be solved, according to the ministry.

This grant aid aims to improve water purification capacity and facility management capacity by constructing and renovating water purification plant facilities and procuring equipment in Kosti City. 

As a result, the average amount of purified water will almost double to 23,700 m3 / day, which is expected to improve the water supply environment and contribute to the improvement of basic life in the White Nile, including the city of Kosti.

At TICAD 7 held in August 2019 in Japan it was announced that “contribution to the construction of a resilient and sustainable society” toward the realization of human security and SDGs, are the foundations of improving lives and economic growth– this plan embodies that statement.