STORY: Senegal inks deal with Chinese firm for water diversion project
SHOOTING TIME: Oct. 31, 2024
DATELINE: Nov. 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:27
LOCATION: Dakar
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the signing event
2. SOUNDBITE (French): CHEIKH TIDIANE DIEYE, Senegal's Minister of Water and Sanitation

STORYLINE:

Senegal's sovereign strategic investment fund, FONSIS, signed a partnership agreement with China's Sinohydro for a major water diversion project Thursday.

Under the agreement, Sinohydro will construct a 250-km aqueduct to transport water from Lake Guiers in northern Senegal to the Mbour-Dakar-Thies triangle in the west, home to a large portion of the country's population.

The project, funded by FONSIS, is scheduled for completion by 2028.

FONSIS Director-General Babacar Gning said that Sinohydro was selected for its "competitive financing offer" and "commitment to implement the project as quickly as possible and to use local labor during construction if Senegal approves the feasibility studies."

Senegal's Minister of Water and Sanitation Cheikh Tidiane Dieye noted Sinohydro was the only company to meet all project criteria established by Senegalese authorities.

SOUNDBITE (French): CHEIKH TIDIANE DIEYE, Senegal's Minister of Water and Sanitation
"When we received assurances from our Chinese counterpart that China would support us in achieving Senegal's Vision 2050, our teams were already in agreement. It is also a sign of destiny and providence that, after a highly transparent process, we signed the agreement step by step and ultimately chose Sinohydro."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Dakar.
(XHTV)