Egypt to implement projects worth $50B to face water scarcity

CAIRO – 9 April 2019: Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati said Monday that the National Water Plan in Egypt (2017-2037) includes strategic projects of an investment cost of not less than $50 billion.

The projects come within the framework of Egypt's efforts to overcome problems related to water shortage and are carried out in coordination with nine ministries, according to Abdel Aati.

This came at the opening session of the seventh Beirut Water Week, which opened on Monday, April 8 under the rubric "Mediterranean Contributions to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

The three-day event is held under the auspices of Lebanese Energy Minister Nada Boustani.

In his speech, Abdel Aati asserted the necessity of protecting drinking water from contamination, underlining that the Millennium Development Goals, which call for providing safe and clean drinking water and sanitation services for all, cannot be achieved unless available resources are managed properly.

He revealed that the state is exerting great efforts to counter the challenges of water scarcity and water insecurity, through implementing programs to improve the efficiency of irrigation water and water recycling mechanisms, besides applying modern irrigation and agriculture techniques to realize Egyptian food security.

In this regard, Abdel Aati said that the Egyptian government has developed the 2050 National Water Resources Development and Management Strategy by putting a plan that aims to improve water quality, rationalize water use, develop water resources, and create an environment conducive to this.

In the same context, the minister said that more than half of the world's population suffers from water scarcity and around two thirds of the world's trans-boundary rivers lack participatory management.

He added that 90 percent of the natural disasters are water-related.

The minister urged the international community to take the necessary measures to face an expected rise in temperature between 1.4 degrees and 5.8 degrees over the next 100 years, given the current climate change.