Kuwaiti loan for Syrian water project

Syrian Minister of State for Planning Abdul Rahim al-Sbei and the director-general of the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab economic development on Sunday signed an agreement providing for giving Syria a loan of 8.1 million Kuwaiti dinars (US $26.3 million) to finance the winter pumping project for al-Sin spring in Lattakia.

The project is intended to meet the requirements of 9,300 hectares of cultivated lands and another 2,300 hectares under cultivation through pumping and storing al-Sin spring waters into al-Sakhaba and al-Hweiz dams so as to provide drinkable water to Lattakia and Tartous.

The project, expected to be completed by the end of 2001, will cost 21 million Kuwati dinars (US $68 million) and will cover only 38.6% of the project's total cost.

The loan is to be repaid within 24 years, including a five-year grace period, and will be distributed in 28 biannual installments with the first installment to be paid on April 15, 2002 and the last in April 2021 at an interest of 3% per year.

So far the Kuwaiti fund has provided 23 loans to Syria, estimated at 296.14 million Kuwaiti dinars (US $962.455 million) to finance projects in various sectors in Syria.