Engineer Randa El Minshawy, minister of housing, utilities, and urban communities, chaired a meeting to review the progress of the drinking water and sanitation system in Assiut Governorate and New Assiut City, as well as the implementation status of a number of ongoing projects in the sector.
The meeting was attended by Eng. Ahmed Omran, deputy minister of housing for utilities, along with ministry officials, representatives of the utilities sector, and affiliated entities responsible for drinking water and sanitation services.
At the beginning of the meeting, Engineer Randa El Minshawy emphasized that the Ministry of Housing places great importance on the swift completion of drinking water and sanitation projects, given their direct impact on citizens’ daily lives. She stressed the need to remove any obstacles that could affect implementation rates and called for full coordination among all concerned entities to ensure that projects enter service according to the established timelines.
The minister of housing added that the head of the drinking water and sanitation company in each governorate bears direct responsibility for the efficient operation of the drinking water and sanitation system within their jurisdiction, as they are the most familiar with local challenges, operational issues, and priority areas in both water supply and sanitation services.
She stressed the importance of adopting a proactive approach to identifying and addressing potential problems before they escalate, ensuring the sustainable delivery of high-quality services to citizens.
Engineer Randa El Minshawy also stressed the importance of intensifying routine and preventive maintenance of treatment plants and networks while strengthening the preparedness of operation and emergency response teams to ensure uninterrupted services and immediate response to any faults or observations.
She affirmed that maintaining the efficiency of the existing system is just as important as implementing new projects, with the ultimate objective of providing safe and reliable services to citizens around the clock.
For his part, Eng. Ahmed Omran, Deputy Minister of Housing for Utilities, affirmed that the ministry’s technical teams regularly monitor the implementation status of ongoing projects and take the necessary measures to overcome all obstacles in coordination with the relevant authorities, contributing to faster implementation rates and the achievement of project targets.
The meeting also reviewed the observations issued by the Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency regarding the drinking water and sanitation system in Assiut Governorate, assessing its operational efficiency and the executive measures taken to address these observations and maintain the quality of services provided to citizens.
The meeting further reviewed the implementation status of several drinking water projects in Assiut Governorate, including the Banhout Water Treatment Plant, the El Tawabiya Water Treatment Plant, the El Badari and Sahel Selim Water Treatment Plant, and the Abu Tig Water Treatment Plant.
The meeting also discussed drinking water and sanitation projects in New Assiut City, including the New Assiut City water intake and treatment plant, the emergency sewage pumping station, the main sewage pumping station in the Southeastern Expansion Area, and the subsidiary sewage pumping station in the same area. These projects are part of ongoing efforts to complete the essential infrastructure needed to support urban expansion and meet the city’s development requirements.