Yemen, WB discuss $90 mln WB-grant activation

SANA'A, April 18 (Saba) - Yemen and World Bank (WB) discussed here
on Saturday the final measures to activate the bank's $90 million
grant allocated to funding a part of the water sector support
project.

A meeting gathered Undersecretary of Agriculture and Irrigation
Ministry for Irrigation and Lands Reclamation Sector Ahmed al-Ashlah
and WB's Official Maher Abu Taleb focused on the significance of
starting the water sector support project of $340 million funded by
Yemeni government with $140 million, WB with $90 million, German
government with $60 million and Dutch government with $48 million.

The meeting discussed the five components of the project and its
importance in supporting water sector through implementing rural
water projects, groundwater maintaining projects, offering guide
services to the farmers, improving water counting systems,
establishing the national irrigation program, setting up water
supply and sanitation services in the urban areas and supporting the
integral water resources administration and the water sector
institutional construction in Yemen.

In the meeting, al-Ashlah reviewed achievements since the initial
signing of the agreement with WB last January in the Egypt's
capital, Cairo, and the final signing last March in the US capital,
Washington, pointing out the procedures currently being finalized to
start the project.

Al-Ashlah said that the project aims at improving the institutional
abilities of the water sector and its bodies, praising the support
presented by WB to push forward the development process in Yemen.

For his part, the WB's official voiced the bank's readiness to
support the irrigation sector in the ministry to be able to carry
out its activities within the water support project, praising the
ministry's steps taken to activate the national irrigation program.