CAIRO- Minister of Irrigation añd Water Resources Hani Sewilam said Wednesday the agricultural drainage network that extends to up to 22,000 km is cleared twice a year.
This came as the minister received a report from Engineer Mohamed Abdel Samie Chairman of the Egyptian Public Authority of Drainage Projects (EPADP) reviewing work path at clearing public drains and projects for constructing covered drainage networks.
The minister of irrigation said agricultural drains with a length of about 15,000 km were cleared within the last fiscal year.
Sewilam said all efforts are meant to ensure receiving and passing agricultural drainage water without any obstacles that may result in water accumulation in agricultural drains.
As regards the implementation of covered drainage projects, he said the ministry has completed, over the past years, the implementation of covered drainage networks on 6 million acres of old land, also replaced and renewed the covered drainage networks in an area covering 2.3 million acres of it.
The minister highlighted work progress in the second and third phases of the Third National Drainage Program (2013-2026). The work of replacing and renewing the covered drainage networks in 143 thousand acres was completed as part of the second phase of the project, Sewilam noted.
He also accentuated the importance of pressing ahead with finalizing covered drainage operations at required rates within the third and fourth national drainage project.
