Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi appointed Irrigation Minister Hesham Qandil as new prime minister on Tuesday, state media reported.

Morsi assigned Qandil to form a new cabinet as soon as possible, acting spokesman of the presidency Yasser Ali was quoted by official MENA news agency as saying.

Morsi is set to hold a meeting with Qandil later on Tuesday, said Ali.

Qandil was named as irrigation and water resources minister last July in a cabinet reshuffle by then-Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who resigned in late November 2011.

Qandil graduated in Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University in 1984, and obtained the Master and Doctor degrees in the Faculty of Irrigation and Drainage of North Carolina University in 1988 and 1993 respectively.

Qandil joined the National Council for Water Researches and gained professorship in 2002, and worked as Director for the Irrigation and Water Resources Minister's office from 1999 to 2005.

He also served as the head of the Nile sector in the African Development Bank.

The appointment came just one month after Morsi was declared winner of the presidency. Egypt held its historic presidential election in May and June, with Morsi winning the election. The former senior official of Muslim Brotherhood was sworn in at the end of June.