Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation announced the implementation of the National Water Plan 2017-2037 will begin in the drinking water sector, with the investment of 50 billion dollars over 20 years, reported Afrik 21.
Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty informed that the plan will be implemented by nine ministries in Egypt. The Egyptian government’s strategy includes strengthening cooperation with other countries in the Nile Basin. There have been tensions in the past months in the international basin, as Egypt and Sudan oppose the construction of the Renaissance Dam by Ethiopia. Now the Egyptian government wants to share with other countries in the Nile basin its ‘successful experience in water management’.
Ongoing projects
Egypt is not going to depend only on the Nile for freshwater. The country has decided to invest in desalination, especially for its new urban development projects. A seawater desalination plant will be built to supply drinking water to the future city of New Mansoura, on the Nile Delta. Last March Fluence Corporation’s Egyptian joint venture, International Co. for Water Services & Infrastructure (IWSI), and Hassan Allam EPC won the contract to build the plant. A $75 million deal, the plant will have a capacity of 40,000 m3 per day.
The 2017-2037 National Water Plan also focuses on water efficiency. The government envisages the reuse of effluent from sewage treatment plants now being built in northern Egypt for irrigation purposes. For instance, a waste water treatment plant will be built in the future city of New Alamain by 2021, by the Egyptian subsidiary of Metito and Egyptian company Orascom Construction, an investment worth 28 million dollars. Mohamed Abdel Aty also recommends the use of water-efficient modern irrigation systems.