The government is considering implementing joint desalination projects with the private sector, with a capacity of 150,000 cubic metres per day.
Government sources told Daily News Egypt that various companies have submitted proposals to implement joint water desalination projects, adding that negotiations between the Egyptian government and interested companies to begin next month.
Among these companies are Spanish Aqualia, French Schneider Electric, Swiss AquaSwiss, and Egyptian Metito.
The government aims to add 1.7m cubic metres per day to the current capacity of seawater desalination plants by the year 2020. Thus, Egypt is implementing 19 desalination plants with a total capacity of 626,000 cubic metres per day in North Sinai, South Sinai, Matrouh, Port Said, and the Red Sea governorates.
Additionally, the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW) aims to establish 16 other plants with a total capacity of 671,000 cubic metres per day, beside of the 58 existing stations with a total capacity of 440,000 cubic metres per day in the governorates of North Sinai, South Sinai, the Red Sea, Matrouh, and Ismailia.
HCWW Chairperson, Mamdouh Raslan, said earlier that saltwater desalination is one of the solutions to meet the increasing demand for drinking water in Egypt, especially with the steady increase of the population and the fixed share of the Nile water.
Raslan pointed out that the Ministry of Housing pays special attention to developing clear plans and a future vision for desalination in Egypt, in full coordination with the ministries of Water Resources, Irrigation, Health, Environment, Planning and all concerned bodies.
