CAIRO - October 15, 2009 - The Kick-Off Ceremony for the West Bank Groundwater Lowering Project will take place next to the Ramesseum Temple in Luxor on Tuesday, October 20.  The project is a result of cooperation between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and the Supreme Council of Luxor City.  The Kick-Off Ceremony, which will begin at 10:30 a.m., will be attended by USAID/Egypt Director, Hilda M. Arellano, President of the Supreme Council of Luxor City, Dr. Samir Farag, Chairman of the National Organization for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage NOPWASD, Eng. Hassan Khaled Fadl, and Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Director of Upper Egypt Antiquities, Mr. Mansour Boraik.  Other Egyptian dignitaries and officials from Foreign Missions working on antiquities in Luxor will also attend.

The ceremony marks the commencement of construction of a sophisticated drainage system that will decrease groundwater levels in the area, thereby protecting five major sites (Medinet Habu, Amenhotep III, Ramesseum, and Seti I) and approximately twenty small temples.  The West Bank Groundwater Lowering Project has been designed by Camp Dresser &McKee (CDM), an American consulting firm, in association with Ahmed Abdel-Warith (AAW).  The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has delegated construction management responsibilities to the National Organization for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage (NOPWASD), a primary USAID partner for water sector infrastructure projects.  Construction will be carried out by the Egyptian Construction Company EGYCO. USAID will contribute US$ 9 million to the project, and NOPWASD will contribute L.E. 25 million.

Since 1993, USAID has funded more than 70 conservation and training projects in partnership with the Government of Egypt.  The sites cover a range of historical periods: Neolithic, Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, early and medieval Christian, medieval Islamic, and Ottoman.  USAID's financial contribution to date has been approximately US$ 100 million.