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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are working with the state-owned The Sovereign Fund of Egypt for Investment and Development (TSFE) to structure and implement public-private partnership (PPP) for four seawater desalination projects.
The projects will increase the water supply in the country, particularly from sustainable and unconventional sources, and further ensure Egypt’s water security, EBRD said in a statement, adding that the plants would be powered by renewable energy.
Egypt aims to transition coastal areas to desalinated water as their primary water source and plans to implement a total desalination capacity of 8.8 million cubic metres per day by 2050.
Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, Rania A. Al-Mashat, said that the project preparedness and advisory services provided jointly by the EBRD and IFC to TSFE, funded by Germany and the Global Infrastructure Facility, establishes a new display of PPP dedicated to accelerating water security in the country.
Heike Harmgart, EBRD Managing Director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, added: “Implementing such undertakings through a PPP can help to ensure faster and more efficient project completion.”
“Water scarcity is a critical challenge in Egypt,” stated Cheick-Oumar Sylla, the IFC’s Regional Director for North Africa and Horn of Africa, adding the country’s ambitious desalination programme is a key initiative for tackling this issue.
Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD, which has invested more than €10.2 billion in 162 projects across the country since its inception in 2012.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
