Islamabad: The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), represented by its CEO Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, signed today in Islamabad a development agreement with the fraternal Islamic Republic of Pakistan to finance the Mohmand Hydropower Dam Project through a soft development loan provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Fund at a value exceeding $240 million.

This project aims to enhance the supply of energy and water for agriculture and daily consumption, and protection from flood risks.

At the signing ceremony, the Pakistani side was represented by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Dr. Kazim Niaz, in the presence of the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki, and several officials from both sides.

By financing this project, the SFD seeks to enhance Pakistan's ability to produce clean and renewable energy, by increasing the production capacity of electricity to generate (800) megawatts, in addition to storing about (1.6) million cubic meters of water to provide sustainable water sources for agriculture and human consumption.

The project will also enhance water and food security, irrigating more than 6,773 hectares of new agricultural land, increasing the current cropping area from 1,517 hectares to 9,227 hectares, and protecting the region from the impact of floods.

During the ceremony, the CEO of the SFD said, "This project is an extension of the support being provided by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Fund since its inception to finance vital and economic projects aimed at achieving growth in development support for the fraternally Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as their number reached approximately (41) development projects and programs with a value of (1.4) billion dollars, in addition to financing oil derivatives with a value exceeding 5.4 billion dollars during the past four years.

For his part, Dr. Niaz thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for supporting the various development sectors in Pakistan through the SFD and contributing to the financing of this vital project, citing the importance of the project and its developmental impact on Pakistan and its people through the use of renewable energy to contribute to the provision of sustainable energy as well as providing water sources that enhance water and food security, praising the development efforts made by the Kingdom through the Fund since 1976 to achieve social growth and sustainable economic prosperity.

It is worth mentioning that the development projects and programs financed by the Saudi Fund for Development in the energy sector at the level of African and Asian countries amounted to (76) development projects and programs since the beginning of its development activity in 1975, of which (33) projects and programs were in African countries, (42) projects and programs in Asian countries, and one project in Latin America, in addition to the Fund's active role in supporting and developing renewable energy sector projects, which numbered (35) projects in (23) developing countries around the world.