And the unexpended balance from previous appropriations, amounting to £320,000, will be added to what is spent in 1911. Captain Kennedy, Director of the Public Works Department, has again drawn attention to the inadequacy of the allocated amount for the maintenance and repair of buildings. The scarcity of funds has led to this amount remaining unchanged in recent years, despite the increase in buildings that require maintenance and repair. A special committee has been formed to investigate this matter, and efforts will be made next year to rectify this situation.

At the end of 1909, the unexpended balance from the special appropriation for the establishment of Port Sudan and its buildings was approximately £20,500. Of this, £13,500 was spent during the year on works. It is estimated that the remaining balance of £70,000 will be spent in 1911 on some urgently needed works.

The quays have been completed, electric cranes have been in continuous operation since the beginning of the year, coal jetties have been put to use, and the drinking water has improved. However, other works are still necessary in the future. There is still ample scope for improvement in the efficiency of the water supply.

Chapter Six On Irrigation "18" - Irrigation Significant progress has been made during the year towards solving the major irrigation problems in Sudan. Mr. Tamam, Director-General of Sudan Irrigation, stated the following in his valuable report in this regard: "The information collected over the six years since the establishment of the Sudan Irrigation Department has enabled us to provide almost definitive answers to the major problems for which the department was established. These are: preventing the wastage of Upper Nile water in the southern Sudan, and in areas where artificial irrigation can be introduced to irrigate the fertile plains of Sudan, and how to achieve this. The first problem is currently being addressed by improving the course of the Bahr el Zeraf through dredging operations."