NEW ALAMEIN, Egypt, July 15 (MENA) – Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli has stressed that the seawater desalination file is one of the key national priorities due to its importance in supporting Egypt’s developmental expansion plans across different sectors such as industry and housing, among others.

The premier’s remarks came during a meeting held Tuesday to review the implementation progress of the strategic plan for seawater desalination, as well as the efforts underway to establish desalination plants.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Sherif El Sherbiny, Deputy Minister of Housing Sayed Ismail, Deputy Chairman of the Holding Company for Water and Waste Water (HCWW) Assem Shokr, and a host of respective officials.

Madbouli noted that the state is keen to expand in this field by depend on advanced desalination technologies, which have witnessed remarkable progress recently, in order to meet the country’s growing water needs.

He stated that state aims to reach around 9 million cubic meters per day of desalinated water. This targeted rate requires accelerating projects and making use of international expertise and specialized companies.

For his part, El Sherbiny said that the government is working to maximize the use of alternative water resources, particularly seawater desalination, to secure citizens' access to clean water in a sustainable manner, in line with the strategic directives of the political leadership.

He explained that the state aims to localize modern desalination technologies and the related supply industries through encouraging public-private partnerships (PPPs) to implement these projects and working on overcoming challenges to ensure the success of these partnerships. This approach aims to benefit from the private sector’s capabilities in management, equipment manufacturing, and renewable energy use in desalination plants to reduce production costs.

Cabinet Spokesperson Mohamed El-Homsany stated that the meeting addressed several aspects of the strategic desalination plan, including the construction of new desalination plants using the latest technologies, upgrading existing plants through a detailed assessment of their current status, localizing the manufacturing of plant components, and assessing future needs and reviewing ongoing project timelines.

The spokesperson added that the meeting also focused on setting clear timelines for each stage of the strategy in the relevant governorates, exploring private sector partnerships to accelerate progress, expanding efforts to localize the desalination supply chain, which would reduce import costs, and considering forming partnerships with major global companies in this field. (MENA)

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