Tianjin: Egypt is targeting the production of 10 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day within the next five to six years, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, noting Egypt's plans to localize this industry.
According to State Information Service Egypt, Madbouly stressed the government's interest in expanding seawater desalination efforts through cooperation with specialized Chinese companies. He met with Qingyun Kong, the head of a Chinese company experienced in this field, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus Meeting hosted in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
The prime minister emphasized Egypt's urgent needs in seawater desalination, aiming to localize the industries related to the components of desalination plants. Kong expressed her company's interest in collaborating with Egypt and presented a Chinese-developed desalination model with a daily capacity of 10,000 cubic meters, powered by renewable energy and scalable to meet Egypt's larger demands.
Madbouly concluded the meeting by proposing direct communication between the company's representatives and relevant Egyptian authorities to explore avenues for joint cooperation in this critical sector. Egypt relies heavily on the Nile River for its freshwater needs but is expanding desalination efforts to secure sustainable water resources and address water scarcity.
While Egypt's annual water needs amount to approximately 114 billion cubic meters, available resources do not exceed 60 billion cubic meters per year. The current per capita share of water is around 500 cubic meters annually, less than half the internationally recognized water poverty threshold.
Desalinated water, although not widely used for drinking, is crucial for supporting development projects, including agriculture and industry, as well as serving coastal cities. The country adopted a national desalination strategy in 2017, beginning with a capacity target of 1.3 million cubic meters per day. The second phase extends through six five-year plans until 2050.
According to Minister of Housing Sherif El-Sherbini, the strategy focuses on meeting growing water demand amid population growth and providing alternative water sources to halt the transfer of surface drinking water to several coastal governorates. The strategy also aims to meet water demands required for urban development.
Egypt currently operates around 100 desalination plants with a combined capacity of 1.2 million cubic meters per day, according to a study by the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, citing official figures from the Ministry of Housing. Plants are located in key coastal governorates including Matrouh, Beheira, South Sinai, the Red Sea, Port Said, and Alexandria.
The water desalination strategy targets 11 coastal governorates where transporting Nile water over great distances is inefficient and costly, according to the minister. Centralized desalination plants are now prioritized to optimize land use, reduce production costs, and limit water transport to no more than 50 kilometers to minimize loss and maximize efficiency.