German Ambassador to Egypt Julius Georg Luy said that his country’s funds for Assiut’s new bridges project are estimated at €311m, representing about two thirds of the project’s total cost, which is worth €474m, according to a press statement from the embassy on Wednesday.

The ambassador added that the majority of the German funds are soft loans provided by the KfW, noting that the project, which will be inaugurated shortly, is one of the main components of the Egyptian irrigation system that will directly help Upper Egypt’s development.

The ambassador praised Assiut’s new bridges project, adding, “we are very proud of this successful project, which is the biggest development Egyptian project funded by Germany. About 5 million Egyptians will benefit from the project. This project comes after implementing a past similar one for Nag’ Hammadi’s bridges from 2002 to 2008, which affirms our long-standing cooperation in terms of development and water as a vital kind of cooperation.”

The project’s implementation lasted from 2012 to 2018, in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry for Water Sources and Irrigation, Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, and KfW, said the statement, noting that the project offered 6,800 job opportunities through implementation.