Egyptian Presidential Directives to 'Make Use of Every Drop of Water'

Arab World

August 31st, 7:27am

Cairo - Mohammed Abdo Hassanein

A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)

The Egyptian government aims to implement presidential directives to "make use of every drop of water," as the country suffers from a scarcity of freshwater resources, in addition to its dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the expansion of the sewage treatment plant in the Abu Rawash area in Giza governorate is part of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directives to use “every single drop of water.” Madbouly explained that the water could be used after treating it according to the Egyptian and the international code. The Abu Rawash plant is the largest sewage project in the region, and the second largest in Egypt after the al-Gabal al-Asfar plant, with a production capacity of 1.6 million cubic meters per day, Madbouly indicated. The project's first phase, which represents half of the plant's capacity, will begin in late November. It is scheduled to be fully operational in March 2022 to serve nine million people at the cost of EGP6.2 billion. "The new project is carrying out primary treatment of 1.2 million cubic meters with an upgraded triple treatment, in addition to 400 thousand cubic meters of advanced dual treatment, and thus the treatment volume will reach 1.6 million cubic meters per day,” Madbouly said. The PM pointed out that this giant project is financed by the Egyptian state and some foreign efforts. He indicated that water treatment is an urgent requirement for Giza and the West Delta region. Egypt suffers from a scarcity of freshwater resources. According to official statements, it has officially entered the "water poverty" era, in which the per capita share is less than 1,000 cubic meters annually. It relies on the Nile River for more than 90 percent of its water. Meanwhile, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, affirmed that work would continue to ensure the efficiency of all drainage departments in the country. He asserted that authorities would monitor and follow up to guarantee the purification of riverbanks and the readiness of the sectors to confront any emergency. Abdel-Aty directed the concerned departments to continue identifying and removing the infringements on all banks, noting that any violation will be reported to authorities for legal action.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3162266/egyptian-presidential-directives-make-use-every-drop-water