Doha

Qatar Charity (QC) has announced that a water plant it is supervising in Nile River state in Sudan will be ready this month.

Some 20,000 people from 19 villages are expected to benefit from it.

The project, implemented at a cost of QR3,000,000, has been funded by Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), Islamic Dawah Organisation and QC, which have worked together as partners and paid an equal share for the implementation. QC is responsible for supervising the work progress through its office in Khartoum.

A QC delegation headed by its CEO Youssef bin Ahmed al-Kuwari has paid an inspection visit to Saqadi region in Nile River state where the plant is being built. He was accompanied by Mohamed Hamed al-Billa, River Nile state governor, and Rashid bin Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi, Qatar’s ambassador to Sudan.

During the visit, Al Hadi Adam, director of Kanana Company, spoke about the work progress and noted that the plant would start pumping drinking water in two weeks from the visit.

Al-Nuaimi expressed happiness that the project was about to be completed. “Such development projects reinforce the relationship between the Qatari and Sudanese people,” he said.

Al-Billa addressed the people living in Saqadi and praised Qatar’s role in providing relief to those in need, sponsoring orphans and implementing projects in Sudan.

The project is aimed at contributing to the provision of drinking water from the Nile river to limit the spread of diseases resulting from the consumption of polluted water. Laboratory results had shown that the groundwater people of Saqadi used to drink contained zinc, which causes cancer.

The project seeks to provide drinking water to 20,000 people by constructing a water plant with required facilities. There is also a main line to transport the water from the plant to 19 villages

The plant has a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres with a settling basin that has a capacity of 250 cubic metres and a 100 cubic-metre water tank with a height of 12m. The plant also includes a laboratory to test the water, a store for chlorination materials and buildings for the operation and security crews.

QC, QRCS and Islamic Dawah Organisation had signed a memorandum of understanding with the drinking water and sanitation department at the Ministry of Water and Power and River Nile Administration to set up the plant.