World's largest water desalination, drainage station completed in Egypt

CAIRO - 14 May 2024: Egypt's government has defied economic challenges by executing groundbreaking projects that have impressed the world, drawing attention to Egypt's current strength amidst global economic conditions.

 

Among these major projects witnessed by the New Republic since President Sisi took office is the water desalination and agricultural drainage projects, led by the Delta Station, implemented by an Egyptian-foreign alliance comprising Arab Contractors, Orascom, and Matito Company.

 

The Delta Station project is a monumental endeavor in the agricultural sector, focusing on waterways and sewage in the Hamam area on the northern coast. With a capacity of 7.5 million cubic meters of water continuously utilized for Egypt's security, agricultural runoff in the northern Delta will be collected and transported to the sewage water station through a 120-kilometer-long pipeline.

 

The aim is to reclaim and cultivate 500,000 acres in western Delta, expanding the agricultural area across the country east of the Western Desert and establishing new agricultural and population communities relying on agricultural production and manufacturing.

 

Additionally, the new Delta water station project aims to significantly reduce pollution levels in Lake Mariout and the Mediterranean coast, creating an area suitable for agriculture and developmental projects in various fields.

 

The new Delta project effectively activates the rise in elevation from the Delta's river area and drainage channels through redirecting sewage and floods that contribute to inundating interest areas in the Beheira Governorate towards the new Delta area. During rainy seasons and floods, the project also enables the enjoyment of high dam irrigation water taste as the new Delta project absorbs this surplus water.

 

The new Delta project addresses sewage water within a permanent strategy for water resources until 2050 and the national energy plan "2017-2037," representing a new data artery to enhance real sustainability for relaxation.

 

The Hamam sewage treatment plant comprises the carrier route for agricultural sewage in the western Delta to the treatment plant in Hamam, along with numerous pumping stations and open channel routes. It is the largest water treatment plant in the world, rehabilitating existing water channels over a length of 60 kilometers and establishing 15 pumping stations.

 

The Hamam water treatment plant is the world's largest water treatment facility, processing 7.5 million cubic meters per day, equivalent to 2.5 billion cubic meters annually. This will be the primary water quantity used for irrigating agricultural lands in Egypt's future project, which will be located in the new Delta. Notably, the station treats sewage water previously discharged into Lake Mariout, reducing the water deficit suffered by Egypt and helping to mitigate environmental pollution caused by Lake Mariout's severe pollution due to multiple sewage outlets.

 

The Hamam station contributes to preserving fish wealth, as polluted lakes reduce fish production. The northern lakes account for 75% of Egypt's fish wealth. Egypt has implemented desalination plants in the Matrouh and Dabaa regions, desalinating 100,000 cubic meters per day, along with plants in South Sinai, each purifying 20,000 cubic meters per day.

 

Additionally, Egypt executed the world's largest desalination plant in the Ain Sokhna area in February 2019, purifying 136,000 cubic meters of water per day, feeding the northwest economic zone of the Suez Gulf. This is in addition to three other giant plants with a capacity of 150,000 cubic meters per day, one in El Galala, another in East Port Said, and the last in New Alamein.

 

A total of 14 seawater desalination plants have been executed, with a total capacity of 476,000 cubic meters per day, costing 9.71 billion EGP, in the governorates of Matrouh, Red Sea, North Sinai, South Sinai, Port Said, Dakahlia, Suez, and Alexandria. Furthermore, there are 76 existing seawater desalination plants with a total capacity of 831.69 thousand cubic meters per day, in the governorates of North Sinai, South Sinai, Red Sea, Matrouh, Ismailia, and Suez, totaling 90 desalination plants with a total capacity of 1.307.69 million cubic meters per day.

 

There are 63 operational plants, with a total production capacity of 799,000 cubic meters per day, while 19 plants are under construction, with a total capacity of 375,000 cubic meters per day, at a total cost of approximately 7.9 billion EGP in the governorates of Matrouh, Red Sea, North Sinai, South Sinai, Port Said, and Dakahlia.