Moroni, Oct 28, 2022, SPA -- A delegation of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) participated yesterday in laying the foundation stone for a project to supply the capital Moroni and its neighboring villages with drinking water in the Republic of the Comoros, as the Fund contributes through a grant of $5 million. The project aims to establish a water treatment plant, rehabilitate and construct water tanks, in addition to constructing their distribution networks, as well as supplying villages that do not have water networks, as well as improving drinking water sources for the former water distribution network, to serve several separate areas. The project will serve about 83,000 beneficiaries in 17 villages, as well as in the capital, Moroni, and will contribute to enhancing water and food security, reducing the rate of disease and epidemics, and facilitating access to clean drinking water sources for the villagers. The ceremony of laying the foundation stone was attended by the Minister of Energy, Water and Hydrocarbons of Comoros, Ali Abrau; the Minister of Finance and Budget, Mazi Abdo, and the Saido Ambassador to Comoros, Dr. Atallah bin Zayed Al-Zayed. Minister Ali Abrau valued the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the field of development work through SFD, whose development activity has been in Comoros since 1981, pointing to the depth of the development relationship between the two sides and the joint cooperation between them, indicating that this project will contribute to support Development assistance to the people of Comoros, as it directly touches upon the needs of the population, and creates many job opportunities. The Director General of the Arab Countries Operations Department at SFD, Eng. Bandar Al-Obaid, explained that this project comes to support the water sector in the Comoros Republic, as it is an essential element in human living and daily life, and that this project is a tributary of development. Since 1981, the Fund has provided (4) development projects through soft development loans worth more than (61) million dollars, in addition to (3) grants provided by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Fund, with a value of (10) million dollars, to contribute to the growth and prosperity of many vital and developmental sectors on the moon. --SPA 03:23 LOCAL TIME 00:23 GMT 0004 www.spa.gov.sa/w1804957