Italian equipment for rebuilding in Sudan’s Red Sea

An Italian development agency donated 100 tons of cement to the ethnich Beja group, for the reconstruction of a destroyed village in Red Sea, and thousands of agricultural tools to the State Ministry of Agriculture.

Shidiab was largely destroyed owing to heavy floods last October. 430 houses, 40 percent of all residences, were knocked down by the water, the Italian Agency for Development Coordination (Aics) said in a press statement on Wednesday. The village was located on a recession on the ground, making it more prone to floods.

Beja tribesmen received the donation in the presence of the Italian Ambassador to Sudan, Fabrizio Lobasso, in the state. Aics stated that this initiative is set as a unique example to be followed the whole Red Sea regarding “urban resettlement”, decided upon together with local communities.

Aics will support the new settlement regarding the water distribution system and technical assistance in order to ensure the reconstruction, which will take place in a close but elevated area, in order to avoid the risk of future floods.

3,000 tools

A range of agricultural tools of different nature – about 3,000 sets of equipment and accessories for eradication of Mesquite, pruning, haymaking, tillage and seed trays – were donated by Aics, under an agricultural development programme to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Red Sea State. State Governor Ali Ahmed Hamid and Minister of Agriculture Awadallah Ibrahim attended the event.

The donation will be followed by training sessions on the use of the tools, organised by the agency. “A better quality of equipment is crucial for the development of agriculture in Red Sea State,” Hamid said.