Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar has said that 151 dual and triple wastewater treatment plants are being implemented across Egypt, at a cost of EGP 31.59bn.
The total capacity of the plants stands at 5.051 million cubic metres per day. This comes in addition to 59 treatment plants, of which 37 are dual treatment and 22 are triple treatment, which have been completed in Upper Egypt to serve 8.3 million people.
El Gazzar said that the state has directed to establish dual and triple treatment plants for sanitation, in order to provide sewage service for citizens. They also aim to maximise the use of every drop of water, and reuse treated water for the designated purposes.
The minister added that a plan had previously been developed to maximise the use of available water resources and conserve water consumption. This was aimed at preserving this important resource, and to optimally utilise every drop of water to achieve the greatest benefit from it.
“The plan works on two main axes, first, providing alternative sources of drinking water, through desalination of water in coastal governorates,” El Gazzar said, “Secondly, [the plan aims for the] re-use of treated water, through expansion in the establishment of sewage treatment plants in Upper Egypt, raising the efficiency of treatment plants, converting them into triple treatment plants, and improving quality of wastewater.”
He further noted that that 14 seawater desalination plants are being implemented, with a total capacity of 476,000 cubic metres per day, at a cost of EGP 9.71bn, in the governorates of Matrouh, the Red Sea, North Sinai, South Sinai, Port Said, Daqahleya, Suez, and Alexandria.
The plan is scheduled to be completed on 30 June 2022, and comes in addition to the 76 existing desalination plants, with a total capacity of 831,690 m3/day, in the governorates of North Sinai, South Sinai, Red Sea, Matrouh, Ismailia, and Suez.
This will bring the total to 90 desalination plants with a total capacity of 1.3 billion cubic metres per day.
