Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, announced that over the past ten years under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s leadership, significant strides have been made in water and sanitation projects in Gharbia Governorate. A total of 10 water projects, including the construction and expansion of water stations and networks, with a daily capacity of 300,000 cubic meters, have been completed. Additionally, 343 sanitation projects have been executed, some of which fall under the first phase of the presidential “Hayah Karima” initiative to develop Egypt’s rural areas. The total investment for these water and sanitation projects amounts to approximately EGP 7.3 billion.
The Minister also highlighted ongoing efforts to complete five additional water projects in Gharbia, aimed at improving service quality and increasing water pressure. These include the water network project in Qutour, the expansion of the Samannoud water station, the completion of the Basyoun water network “El-Roba line,” and the completion of water networks in both El-Mahalla El-Kubra and Samannoud. Furthermore, four urban sanitation projects are currently underway, including the completion of sanitation services in El-Mahalla El-Kubra and Kafr El-Zayat cities, as well as the construction of sewage treatment plants in Shabraqass and Baqoloolah.
Lieutenant General Ihab Khidr, Head of the National Authority for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage, noted that 205 rural areas in Gharbia, housing 2.9 million residents (79.5% of the rural population), are already benefiting from sanitation services, covering 63.5% of the rural areas. Additionally, ongoing efforts are focused on extending sanitation services to 86 more rural areas, covering 16.3% of the rural population, with the work being carried out by the National Authority for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage, in collaboration with the Gharbia Water and Sanitation Company, and partially funded by the “Hayah Karima” initiative.
