Egypt Launches Development Projects to Support Nile Basin Countries

A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. Reuters
A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. Reuters
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Egypt Launches Development Projects to Support Nile Basin Countries

A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. Reuters
A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. Reuters

Egypt continues to launch a number of projects to support the Nile Basin countries and bolster ties.

The Egypt-based Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) has recently established a solar power plant in Tororo district in Uganda.

The project comes in line with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s directives to enhance joint cooperation with the Nile Basin countries and all African countries in various fields of industrialization, AOI Chairman Lieutenant-General Abdel Moneim al-Terras stated on Thursday.

The organization is keen to employ all its manufacturing and technological capacities to participate in the various development projects taking place in Uganda and all the African countries.

The AOI supports renewable energy projects through the Egyptian Initiative for Development in the Nile Basin Countries, Terras noted.

He explained that the plant established operates on a photovoltaic system with a capacity of 4 megawatts, pointing to the organization’s keenness to exchange expertise and train technical workers in Uganda.

The solar panels installed at the plant are produced by the Arab Renewable Energy Company (ARECO), a subsidiary of the AOI. They are efficient and were manufactured in line with international quality standards, Terras said.

The AOI is currently implementing many renewable energy projects in several African countries to achieve the maximum benefit of solar energy as a clean source of electricity generation.

Egypt has implemented many projects with the Nile Basin countries over the past years in the fields of water and electrical grids, including dams for rainwater harvesting and underground drinking water stations to provide pure drinking water in remote areas, fish farms and river anchors, as well as projects in the field of disinfecting waterways.

The projects include building seven rainwater harvesting dams in Uganda, drilling 180 underground wells in Kenya and installing a lifting unit to transport river water to communities near waterways in Wau city, south of Sudan.



Palestinian Families in Tents Endure Harsh Conditions on Gaza’s Windswept Coast

Displaced Palestinians stand in front of tents along an inundated passage, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians stand in front of tents along an inundated passage, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Palestinian Families in Tents Endure Harsh Conditions on Gaza’s Windswept Coast

Displaced Palestinians stand in front of tents along an inundated passage, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians stand in front of tents along an inundated passage, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Displaced Palestinian families living in makeshift tent camps along the desolate beach in Deir al-Balah say there's no way to stay warm as winter hits the Gaza Strip.
Wind from the sea whips through shelters of torn tarps and bedsheets, held together with rope and wooden frames. They offer little insulation to Muhammad al-Sous, his wife and their five kids. Their tent is right on the beach beside a sandy bluff, just meters (yards) from the waves, and he says high seas washed away most of their belongings, The Associated Press said.
“These children, I swear to God, their mother and I cover ourselves with one blanket and we cover them with three blankets that we got from neighbors,” he said. The kids collect plastic bottles to burn for warmth in front of their tent.
“Everyone has nothing but what they are wearing. When my wife bathes them, she washes their clothes and hangs them up to dry while they stay here under the covers until their clothes are dry,” said al-Sous, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya.
At least three babies died from the cold this week while sleeping in tents, according to doctors at Nasser Hospital. A nurse who worked at the European Hospital also died of exposure in a tent. Overnight temperatures have dipped as low as 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) in the territory.
Meanwhile, Atta al-Hassoumi, another man displaced from Beit Lahiya along with eight family members, said they pray for mild weather without rain or storms.
“We are shivering from the cold and from the situation that we are in. ... I'm unable to work or do anything in war, and I am unable to do anything for them,” he said.