CAIRO: Egypt’s minister of electricity and renewable energy said his ministry has received offers from the world’s largest specialized companies to implement seawater-desalination projects using renewable energy.
These offers are being evaluated with the aim of finding the most competitive prices, Mohamed Shaker said during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and other officials.
Egypt is seeking to develop new ways to save water, demand for which is expected to increase due to population growth, amid the threat of decreased supply of Nile water due to Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam.
Assem Al-Sakani, minister of housing, utilities and urban communities, said the strategic plan to build seawater-desalination plants is based on six five-year plans until 2050, with the aim of providing enough drinking water to meet natural population growth.
Egypt is implementing several new projects for water desalination, sewage treatment, and agricultural drainage treatment and recycling.
This is in support of the state’s policy of rational water management with the possibility of using renewable energy to reduce the environmental footprint and the cost of consumed energy.
Egypt has allocated more than 7,650 sq. km of unused land for new and renewable energy projects, including solar and wind.
