85 unlicensed car wash stations closed in Kafr El-Sheikh

CAIRO – 3 January 2017: Eighty-five unlicensed car wash stations were closed in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate on Wednesday to prevent waste of water and rationalize water consumption, according to a statement by Saeed Hemesa, the head of the Central Administration for Irrigation in Kafr El-Sheikh.

This came as a result of orders issued by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aaty to close car wash stations to rationalize the use of water because of limited water resources.

The head of the reservoirs and grand barrages sector at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Abdel Latif Khaled, stated earlier that Egypt suffers from water scarcity and will face much tougher situations as a result of increasing demand.

"Egypt does not have the luxury to waste even one cubic meter of water," Khaled said, noting that the country has no alternative water resources, while the demand is increasing.

Abdel Aaty announced in May 2016 that Egypt’s water resources produce 62 billion cubic meters annually, while consumption amounts to 80 billion cubic meters.

The annual per capita of water supply in Egypt is 600 cubic meters, while the international average is 1,000 cubic meters, according to statistics by the ministry and the Central Agency of Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).