The Egyptian government is set to invest US $83m in water and sanitation projects in bid to reduce water deficit facing the country. This comes after The Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources signed an agreement with European Union (EU) to provide for cooperation under the National Plan for Water and Irrigation until 2037 as well as on some projects using modern irrigation and water treatment systems in drainage systems

According to minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Mohamed Abdel Aty stated that Egypt has a deficit of 21billion m3 of water. To lessen the deficit Mohamed said the the government has decided to give direct support towards the water and sanitation projects, particularly in Upper Egypt so as to lessen this deficit.

Also Read:South Africa commits US $37.6m towards water projects

Water Project

Though no details were provided on the distribution of this funding, Mohamed Abdel Aty reassured that part of  it would be injected into drinking water and sanitation works related to infrastructure projects.

He further added that the construction of the Abu Oweikal wastewater plant is also included in the financial plan. The plant was to have a final capacity of 500,000m3 per day but due to insufficient funding the construction site is presently on at halt due.

Mohamed Abdel Aty said that practicability study has already been carried out on the construction for the dam located in the valley of Shalateen Basin, part of a  territory located in south-east Egypt and contested by Sudan.

According to Sameh Sakr Sameh Sakr, of the National Irrigation and Water Resources Authority, it will be the “largest dam in the eastern desert”. This dam with a capacity of 7,000,000 m3, will be used to collect rainwater. Much of the water collected will be used for irrigation.