Lack of clean drinking water is a great problem in Khartoum, where a large part of the population has to resort to contaminated groundwater. This problem will be tackled by the year 2008, when the purification plant is constructed. The contract was signed this week by the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation Agnes van Ardenne, the Sudanese Minister of Finance Alzubair Ahmed Hassan, CEO Arthur Arnold (FMO) and representatives of the British water company Biwater. The British company Biwater will supervise and manage the purification plant for a period of twelve years, after which it is handed over to the Khartoum State Water Corporation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contributes USD 58 million through the Dutch international development bank FMO. The South African development bank IDC will provide a loan of USD 50 million. Half of the Dutch contribution comes from the ORET-scheme, a programme for development-related export transactions, that supports infrastructure projects to enhance commercial activities and job opportunities. The other half is made through a loan from the Infrastructure Fund for the Least Developed Countries. For the Dutch government, involved in peace promotion and reconstruction in the war-torn country of Sudan, the investment in the new water purification plant is also seen as a contribution to the Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty worldwide. The Netherlands aims to provide safe drinking water and sanitation to some fifty million people by the year 2015. P+ Webtip: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)