98.7% of Egypt’s population have access to drinking water

CAIRO - 12 March 2020: Approzximately 98.7% of Egypt’s population have access to drinking water and the government seeks to establish more water networks to reach the rest of the population, said Assistant Minister of Housing for Utilities Affairs Tariq Al-Rifai on Thursday.

 

In media remarks to “Showdown” talk show on Extra news channel, he added the state suffered financial losses due to the increasing population, noting that a square meter in establishing a water network costs between LE 5,000 and LE 6,000.

 

“Thus, establishing a water network costs approximately LE 600 million. With the increase of population, the state incurs more expenses and money that can be saved,” he said.

 

The population of Egypt will reach 119.8 million by 2030 to be equal to the census of 15 European countries, according to the latest data issued by the national Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) last month.

 

“We won’t feel the impact of public spending [on national projects and infrastructure] unless annual population growth is cut to 400,000 [from 2.4 million],” the president stated while inaugurating a number of healthcare establishments on the risks of overpopulation in February.

 

"For the 100 million Egyptians to feel the impact of development programs accomplished, our annual GDP must be $100 trillion which is beyond our capacity," President Sisi added.

 

Egypt's per capita share of water declined to 570 m3 per year in 2018, said the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in April 2019.

 

Egypt suffers from an annual 21 billion cubic meters gap between water consumption and production. The consumption reached 110 billion cubic meters, while Egypt currently has 60 million cubic meters annually, announced Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti in October 2018.