The Egyptian government has awarded Hassan Allam Construction a deal to build irrigation networks in Toshka in the New Valley Governorate, Afrik21 reported.
Hassan Allam Construction will help the government lay 265 kilometers of irrigation networks to water crops for smallholder farmers in the region.
New Valley is a governorate in southwestern Egypt near the Western Desert. It has a dry climate and has recently been affected poorly by drought.
This makes it difficult for farmers to carry out their activities. However, the latest deal will see the company set in motion a government plan to improve the water supply for regional smallholder farmers.
Over the past nine months, the construction company has developed water and irrigation facilities on more than 64,749 hectares of land in Toshka.
The project will cover an area of more than 22,758 hectares, while farming activities will be conducted on 11,425 hectares. Meanwhile, the government expects annual production of 84,000 tonnes of wheat from the new irrigation systems.
About Toshka
The Toshka Project (or New Valley Project) includes building a system of canals to carry water from Lake Nasser to irrigate sandy wastes in the Western Desert, which is part of the Sahara Desert.
Research reported by Science Direct highlighted how the spatial distribution of Egypt’s water resources is poorly balanced.
Ninety-six percent of the country’s land endures continuous droughts, with 98 percent of the population living on four percent of its land area near the Nile River, Egypt’s only source of freshwater.
Hassan Allam Holding S.A.E
Hassan Allam Holding was founded in 1936 by Hassan Mohamed Allam as an informal construction company.
The group’s interests span civil contracting for heavy projects, infrastructure and buildings, engineering, procurement and construction for electromechanical works, and manufacturing of steel structures, concrete blocks and water transmission pipes.
In 2016, the International Financial Corporation became an equity partner in Hassan Allam Holding and was placed on its board of directors.
Amr and Hassan Allam are the co-CEOs of Hassan Allam Holding.
