The Board of Directors of the Saudi Development Fund (FSD) has granted US$20 million to the Niger government towards the funding of the Kandadji dam project, a communiqué from the Saudi Arabia embassy in Niamey said on Tuesday.
According to the communiqué, the money is to support Niger’s development efforts.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in May 2008 released US$50 million for the financing of the first phase of construction works of the dam. The total cost of the dam is estimated at US$ 236 million.
Niger’s president, Mamadou Tandja, laid the foundation stone last October for the building of the dam which is expected to help in poverty reductionthrough the regeneration of the natural environment, improved food security and the supply of energy.
The Kandaji dam on the Niger river, 180 km west of Niamey, has the specific goals of regenerating and preserving river ecosystems through the regularisation of stream flows, ensuring water availability for different socio-economic uses, such as drinking water, irrigation, water transport and
livestock.
It is also to improve food security and the living conditions of the people, and increasing the country’s energy security.
Once completed, the dam will help store nearly 1.6 billion cubic metres of water to irrigate and till some 222,000 hectares of land on the banks of the
river for the production of some 320,000 tons for food. The first phase comprises a programme aimed at “regenerating the ecosystem and developing the Niger valley”.
