Egypt has signed a grant agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) worth $650,000 in order to finance the feasibility studies for the establishment of a cross-continent shipping line, a report said.

Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed a grant agreement worth $650,000, to finance the feasibility studies for the establishment of a cross-continent shipping line, a report said.

The Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund, which belongs to the AfDB group, will provide the financial aid for the first phase of the required initial feasibility studies of the shipping line connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Victoria, reported Daily News Egypt.

The main aim of the shipping line project is to convert the Nile River into a sustainable waterway for transport, said the report citing the Ministry of International Cooperation.

The project is expected to link Nile Basin countries, including Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

With this project in place, economic collaboration between the Nile Basin countries will be enhanced, as it will encourage trade between them with time and cost-saving transportation, added the report.