Minister of Energy and Mining meets WB regional director

Khartoum, Oct. 1 (SUNA) - Acting Minister of Energy and Mining Khairy Abdel-Rahman has met with the regional director of the World Bank (WB), Ousmane Dione, and discussed a number of proposals concerning developing the energy and mining sector in the Sudan. The Minister of Energy and Mining has formed a committee from various institutions to reform the electricity sector, and explained that the government has realized a lot of wrong policies that had damaged the economy in the past. He stressed that the ministry is currently carrying out remedies at the oil sector, and setting policies in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, explaining that the government is now leading the country with all its ministries to return to the correct international path. The regional director of the World Bank, on his part, enumerated Sudan’s advantages in terms of the vast areas and natural resources that must be properly utilized. Ousmane Dione indicated that the World Bank is coming to Sudan, and he is confident that there is a real change in the government’s policies and is moving towards openness, and that the World Bank is increasing its support for it, especially in the areas of community development. The World Bank’s official added that the vast areas can be used to increase solar energy projects, referring to the model of Vietnam, as it used to produce 10 thousand megawatts and it produces now 40 thousand megawatts, expectin that Sudan could achieve greater than that percentage due to its resources and vast areas. He pointed out that the World Bank would not hesitate to provide technical support to the electricity sector, and revealed that support for electricity sector reforms amounts to $ 15 million. BT/BT