Saudi Gazette report
NOUAKCHOTT — The Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Sultan Al-Murshid, took part in the foundation-stone-laying ceremony for a major drinking water supply project for the city of Kiffa, sourced from the Senegal River, as part of Saudi Arabia’s development cooperation with Mauritania.
The project is financed through a $100 million concessional development loan and was inaugurated in the presence of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani and Saudi Ambassador to Mauritania Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Raqabi. It aims to meet rising demand for potable water, reduce dependence on unsafe water sources, limit water-borne diseases, and enhance water security.
The project is expected to benefit more than 500,000 people across 25 villages and residential communities through water pipelines extending more than 250 kilometers.
During the visit, Al-Murshid also signed a $60 million concessional development loan agreement with Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Development Abdullah Suleiman Cheikh Sidia to support the Mauritania–Mali electricity interconnection project and the development of associated solar power stations.
The electricity project includes expanding transmission and distribution networks over 1,373 kilometers from Nouakchott, supplying power to 150 villages and communities, and constructing 11 substations operating at 225 kilovolts with a total capacity of 600 megawatts. It is expected to improve living conditions for more than 480,000 beneficiaries.
Al-Murshid met with Mauritanian officials, including the ministers of economic affairs and development, equipment and transport Aâl Sayed Ahmed El-Feirak, and energy and petroleum Mohamed Ould Khaled, to discuss ways to further strengthen development cooperation between the two sides.
The projects reflect the long-standing partnership between the Saudi Fund for Development and Mauritania, which dates back to 1979.
To date, the Fund has supported 31 development projects and programs in Mauritania through concessional loans and grants totaling nearly $1 billion, contributing to growth across key sectors of the Mauritanian economy.
