Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hosam Moghazi announced Thursday that the inauguration of a project on cultivating 10,000 feddans in Farafra area before the end of the current year would mark the start of the national mega project of 1.5 million feddans.

The opening of a number of other new projects in Toshka and Ismailia would then follow that Farafra project in western Egypt, he added in statements on the sidelines of his tour of a number of water resources projects in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Assiut.

The Ministry is currently working on implementing a number of national programs and projects that aim to achieve a fair distribution of water in all governorates, whether for drinking or agriculture, the minister said.

Investments in the ministry projects, currently ready for inauguration, were estimated at EGP 1.5bn in 26 projects, the minister said, adding that ongoing investments in projects, expected to be opened by June 2016, were estimated at EGP 1.6bn.