KHARTOUM, 8 January 2003 — Saudi Arabia is lending $150 million toward a $1.6 billion Nile dam project in electricity-hungry Sudan, officials from both countries announced yesterday. The loan agreement was signed here by Minister of Finance and National Economy Ibrahim Al-Assaf and his Sudanese counterpart Zubair Ahmed Hassan. The dam is planned in Merowe, 350 km north of Khartoum, near the Nile’s fourth cataract. "We are happy to contribute in this project that has been a dream (for Sudan) since the 1940s," Al-Assaf said after the signing ceremony. The latest loan brings to around $650 million the funds committed so far to the project. (AFP)