The Bank had approved the US$145 million loan to the government of Egypt in June 2007 to build an irrigation system that would divert water from the Nile to supply modern, export-oriented farms on reclaimed desert lands areas that are severely depleted of groundwater sources.
The World Bank has not disbursed any amount from the loan since the approval. The Bank was waiting for the Egyptian government to select a contractor to design, build and operate the project. By the beginning of 2011, there were only four pre-qualified consortia. Two of them withdrew from the bidding process following the January 25th 2011 revolution, and only one bid was later received in April 2011. The World Bank rated the project unsatisfactory and decided to close it on the date that had actually been scheduled for the project’s completion and closure: June 30, 2011.