Al Fanar for Contracting, Construction, Trade, Import, and Export Company (Al Fanar) and Hassan Allam Construction (HAC) have partnered for some civil works in Toshka in the southern desert of Egypt, Invest-Gate reports.

Under the EGP 4.96 mn agreement, HAC will implement and install a number of irrigation systems in Toshka, as part of the state’s comprehensive Southern Valley Development Project (SVDP), according to the company’s recent bourse filing.

Standing as one of the government’s mega-projects being undertaken nationwide, SVDP is aimed at developing and extending agricultural production, according to a previous ministerial statement.

Besides creating new jobs and population centers away from the narrow confines of the Nile Valley, the development project is also set to double the amount of cultivated land in Upper Egypt, at costs estimated at USD 100 bn (EGP 1.6 trn).