1000 groundwater wells drilled in Sisi’s 1.5m feddan project: official
A total of 1000 out of 1,312 ground water wells have been drilled so far in the first phase of the 1.5 million feddan reclamation project that was inaugurated by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi last year, the head of ground water department Sameh Sakr at the Irrigation Ministry told Youm7.
The cost of the drilled wells reached 1.5 billion EGP ($169 million,) while the total cost of the first phase is estimated at 2 billion EGP.
The project is due to be finalized in two years; it is meant to expand the country’s cultivated lands by 20 percent by the reclamation of 1.5 million feddan of Egypt’s desert lands. Desert areas depend solely on ground water, which is the main source of irrigation for the project.
Sakr said that the wells will be operated by solar energy to maintain the aquifers.
Roadside bomb kills 2 conscripts, injures 2 in North Sinai
Two conscripts were killed and two others were injured after a roadside bomb detonated in a passing armored personnel carrier passed. The victims were transferred to Arish Hospital, according to a medical source in North Sinai.
Meanwhile, a military operation in the northern tip of the peninsula has announced killing two militants and injured three others.
71k addicted persons treated for free within a year: Solidarity Min.
Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly stated that a total of 71,597 addicted persons have been treated and rehabilitated for free since the anti-addiction national plan kicked the last financial year 2015/2016.
Waly added that two new branches to provide anti-addiction treatment will be opened in both Sharqia and Dakahlia governorates.
Cairo sees highs of 39°C Sunday
Forecasters expected a hot weather to prevail across the country Sunday, with the capital Cairo recording highs of 39°C.
Spokesperson for the official forecast authority, Waheed Seoudy told Youm7 that the heat wave felt these days will relent on Monday and Tuesday, where the temperature to drop by three degrees to record highs of 36°C in Cairo.
6 killed in Cairo-Alexandria road accident
Six people were killed after a microbus crashed into a concrete barrier on Cairo-Alexandria Agricultural Road late Saturday.
Thousands of Egyptians die on the road every year due to traffic accidents. Egypt recorded 14,548 traffic accidents in 2015, a one percent increase compared to 2014, according to a statement by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS.)
