USTDA Regional Brief - Middle East and North Africa

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, reverse trade missions and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds, to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries, creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.

Since the agency's creation in 1981, USTDA has provided more than $75 million in funding for activities that support economic needs and priorities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Key USTDA investments in the region include project development and investment support studies related to projects in transportation and trade logistics, information and communication technology (ICT), energy supply, water resource management, and disaster preparedness and recovery. USTDA invested $5.7 million in activities in the region in 2009, and has a strong project pipeline for 2010. USTDA's recent portfolio includes extensive work in a broad range of sectors, including transportation, energy, water, and ICT.

Throughout the year, USTDA will continue its support for key sectors in the MENA region that represent both high economic development priorities for host country sponsors and strong opportunities for U.S. firms. The following is an illustrative list of recent projects in the MENA region:

Algeria

Oil Spill Response and Port Security – This reverse trade mission familiarized a delegation of Algerian and Moroccan officials with U.S. policy and practices in the area of oil spill response and port security, including the U.S. Container Security Initiative, oil spill prevention standards, rapid response procedures, and the implementation of a National Response Plan. The visit also exposed the delegation to U.S. technologies, including state-of-the-art containment and cleanup equipment and gamma-ray scanners. Delegates met U.S. suppliers, national associations, and federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Egypt

West Nile Supplementary Pump Station – USTDA is providing a $277,774 technical assistance grant to the Egyptian Ministry for Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) in support of a supplementary pump station in the West Delta region of the Nile. The USTDA-funded assistance will support the development of pumping systems to secure the region’s water supply and provide resources for MWRI to meet the critical agricultural needs of the West Delta region.

Egyptian National Railways Positive Train Control System – USTDA is funding a $658,323 grant to Egyptian National Railways (ENR) to support a feasibility study of positive train control (PTC) system architecture and requirements for Egypt. The study will evaluate the capability of PTC technologies and systems to improve safety of operations on Egyptian railways. The study will also improve the capacity of the ENR network to operate more traffic over existing infrastructure. This USTDA-funded assistance will help to optimize ENR’s operations in areas such as management of trains and adaptation to contingencies in real-time.

ICT Modernization for EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering (M&E) – USTDA is providing $642,577 to EgyptAir M&E to fund technical assistance associated with the company’s ICT infrastructure for its overall business and organizational operations. The USTDA-funded assistance supports Egypt M&E’s plans to further modernize its operations in order to provide state-of-the-art service to both EgyptAir and its other international carrier customers.

Egypt Hydrocarbons Corporation (EHC) Steam Cracker – USTDA is providing $263,601 to EHC to fund a feasibility study of a proposed steam cracker project. The study will expand on the results of a technical pre-feasibility study completed by KBR and establish a complete basis of design for the steam cracker and supporting infrastructure. It is estimated that U.S. producers could supply approximately $1 billion worth of goods, services and technologies towards this project. A previous USTDA grant to EHC resulted in $275 million in U.S. exports.

Iraq

Civil Aviation Sector – USTDA funded an reverse trade mission to the United States in February 2010 to familiarize Iraqi civil aviation sector officials with capacity and regulatory practices in the United States as well as advanced U.S. technology and equipment that could be used in the rebuilding of the Iraqi civil aviation sector. A highlight of the visit was a tour of the international airport facilities in New Orleans to observe the efforts to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Jordan

Millennium Energy Industries (MEI) Concentrated Solar Power Plant – USTDA is providing a $701,192 feasibility study grant to MEI in support of a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plant for the Ma’an Development Area in Jordan. This study will identify the specific needs of the solar power facility in Ma’an. Implementation of this technology will help Jordan achieve the goal of increasing the use of clean and renewable sources of energy and decreasing dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Water Sector – USTDA funded an reverse trade mission to the United States in June 2009 to familiarize Jordanian water sector officials with U.S. water reuse and loss reduction equipment, services and technology. The visit complements USTDA’s three recent water sector projects with the Ministry of Environment, the Water Authority of Jordan, and Aqaba Water Company. The itinerary exposed the delegates to U.S. equipment and technologies that could be applied in the implementation of various projects and included the delegates’ participation in the American Water Works Association’s annual conference.

Morocco

Cold Storage Systems – USTDA is funding two grants, one for $531,810 to the Ministry of Agriculture and one for $462,970 to the National Office of Fisheries, to support, respectively, the development of cold storage infrastructure for palm dates and for fish. The technical assistance programs will include studies to identify the specific needs for cold storage infrastructure and facilities that will reduce losses in fishing and palm date production industries, which are both supported under the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Compact with Morocco. Both programs will include a training component that targets producers, fishermen and producer associations.

Weather Observation Network System – USTDA is providing a $269,110 grant to the National Meteorology Agency of Morocco to support technical assistance for a Weather Observation Network System. The USTDA-funded assistance will focus on modernization and optimization of the observational weather network in order to produce accurate and timely weather forecasting and alerts, and foster a greater understanding of and preparation for the impact of climatic change in Morocco.

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) Operations Optimization – USTDA is providing $337,880 for a feasibility study grant to RAM to develop an operations optimization program in support of the establishment of a hub for RAM’s operations at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport. The study will address flight punctuality, baggage and ground handling, passenger processing, and other vital processes to accommodate increasing numbers of international passengers and meet stricter international regulations. The study will provide to RAM the foundation for sustainable long-term growth and the ability to meet future demand.

West Bank – Palestinian Territories

Rawabi New City (Rawabi) Development – USTDA is funding two grants to Bayti Real Estate Investment Company in support of the Rawabi development in the West Bank. The first grant of $273,772 will support a feasibility study to perform a detailed economic analysis of wastewater treatment technologies for wastewater reclamation and reuse within Rawabi and for irrigation of adjacent agricultural land and industrial sites. The second grant will support technical assistance related to the development of an ICT Master Plan for Rawabi. These two grants will advance the use of environmentally beneficial technologies for wastewater reuse in this water scarce region and provide residents with cost-effective essential ICT services, respectively, to help realize the vision of an affordable and environmentally sustainable residential community in the West Bank that is simultaneously a hub for a knowledge-based economy.

Geothermal for District Heating and Cooling – USTDA is providing a $438,162 feasibility study grant to MENA Geothermal Ground Energy and Investment Company Ltd. to examine the viability of a geothermal heating and cooling system for a planned 500-unit affordable housing complex in the West Bank. The use of geothermal technology in this project will help achieve the goal of increasing the use of clean and renewable sources of energy and decreasing dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Internet Data Center – USTDA is providing a $412,093 grant to Safad Engineering & Electronics Ltd. for a feasibility study designed to provide technical, business and financial advisory services related to the establishment of an Internet Data Center (IDC) in Ramallah, West Bank. The IDC will offer a secure data facility to provide web hosting, web services, managed services and other advanced applications for the local Internet and digital services marketplace.

Yemen

National Rural Electrification Program – USTDA is funding a $259,382 technical assistance grant to the Yemeni Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) in support of the National Rural Electrification Program. This grant follows a recent USTDA-funded grant designed to establish both the legal and regulatory framework for national rural electrification policy and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The present technical assistance will define a detailed and definitive transition plan in order for REA to effectively manage all rural electrification activities in Yemen, and will help MOEE and REA to establish the Rural Electric Service Providers responsible for rural electric networks in Yemen.

Regional

Water Sector – USTDA funded an reverse trade mission to the United States in 2009 for public sector water officials and representatives of large water consumers from Morocco and Algeria. The itinerary introduced the delegates to U.S. wastewater and desalinization technology and equipment as well as allowed the delegates to participate in the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (Weftec) in Orlando, Florida.

MENA Power 2010 Forum – This USTDA-sponsored conference in Cairo, Egypt will match senior policy makers and project sponsors in the electric power sector from the MENA region with U.S. providers of advanced equipment and service solutions. The conference will highlight projects in electricity generation, transmission, distribution and regional interconnection. The conference will present substantial commercial opportunities to U.S. companies in the electricity sector, while simultaneously helping to advance electricity projects vital for economic development.