Egypt plans $2.8bn desalination programme over next five years

Egypt’s government has announced the North African country will develop 47 desalination plants over the next five years in a programme worth $2.8bn. The 47 desalination plants will be located in the governorates of North and South Sinai, Suez, Ismailia, Port Said, Dakahlia, Kafr e-Sheikh, Beheira Matrouh and the Red Sea coast.

 

Egypt’s government has announced the North African country will develop 47 desalination plants over the next five years in a programme worth $2.8bn.

The 47 desalination plants will be located in the governorates of North and South Sinai, Suez, Ismailia, Port Said, Dakahlia, Kafr e-Sheikh, Beheira Matrouh and the Red Sea coast.

The five-year plan is expected to result in additional desalination capacity of 2.44 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) by the end of 2025. The programme is being overseen by the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca), the General Organisation for Physical Planning and the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW).

The first phase of the five-year programme will focus on the areas with the most water scarcity – North and South Sinai, Matrouh and the Red Sea. The government is planning for the construction of 19 desalination plants with a combined total capacity of 312,000 cm/d. The first phase will have a total cost of about $428.6m.

The second phase will involve the construction of seven desalination plants with a combined total capacity of 335,000 cm/d at a cost of $413m.

Under the third stage, $1.85bn of investment will be required for the development of 19 desalination plants. For the fourth and final phase, two desalination plants with a combined total capacity of 100,000 cm/d will be developed.

The projects are part of Egypt’s plans to boost water security through developing unconventional water resources. Currently, Egypt relies on the Nile river for water, with 95 per cent of its water supplies coming from the river.

Cairo is concerned about the nearing completion of the $4.5bn Grand Dam project in neighbouring Ethiopia, which it says will threaten the water security for its 100-million-plus population.