Egyptian Presidential Directives to 'Make Use of Every Drop of Water'

A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
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Egyptian Presidential Directives to 'Make Use of Every Drop of Water'

A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)

The Egyptian government aims to implement presidential directives to "make use of every drop of water," as the country suffers from a scarcity of freshwater resources, in addition to its dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the expansion of the sewage treatment plant in the Abu Rawash area in Giza governorate is part of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directives to use “every single drop of water.”

Madbouly explained that the water could be used after treating it according to the Egyptian and the international code.

The Abu Rawash plant is the largest sewage project in the region, and the second largest in Egypt after the al-Gabal al-Asfar plant, with a production capacity of 1.6 million cubic meters per day, Madbouly indicated.

The project's first phase, which represents half of the plant's capacity, will begin in late November. It is scheduled to be fully operational in March 2022 to serve nine million people at the cost of EGP6.2 billion.

"The new project is carrying out primary treatment of 1.2 million cubic meters with an upgraded triple treatment, in addition to 400 thousand cubic meters of advanced dual treatment, and thus the treatment volume will reach 1.6 million cubic meters per day,” Madbouly said.

The PM pointed out that this giant project is financed by the Egyptian state and some foreign efforts.

He indicated that water treatment is an urgent requirement for Giza and the West Delta region.

Egypt suffers from a scarcity of freshwater resources. According to official statements, it has officially entered the "water poverty" era, in which the per capita share is less than 1,000 cubic meters annually. It relies on the Nile River for more than 90 percent of its water.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, affirmed that work would continue to ensure the efficiency of all drainage departments in the country.

He asserted that authorities would monitor and follow up to guarantee the purification of riverbanks and the readiness of the sectors to confront any emergency.

Abdel-Aty directed the concerned departments to continue identifying and removing the infringements on all banks, noting that any violation will be reported to authorities for legal action.



Sudan's RSF Conducts First Drone Attack on Port Sudan

Smoke rises from the airport of Port Sudan following reported attacks early on May 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke rises from the airport of Port Sudan following reported attacks early on May 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudan's RSF Conducts First Drone Attack on Port Sudan

Smoke rises from the airport of Port Sudan following reported attacks early on May 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke rises from the airport of Port Sudan following reported attacks early on May 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a drone attack on a military air base and other facilities in the vicinity of Port Sudan Airport, a Sudanese army spokesperson said on Sunday, in the first RSF attack to reach the eastern port city.
No casualties were reported from the attacks, the spokesperson said.
The RSF has not commented on the incident, Reuters said.
The RSF has targeted power stations in army-controlled locations in central and northern Sudan for the past several months but the strikes had not inflicted heavy casualties.
The drone attack on Port Sudan indicates a major shift in the two-year conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The eastern regions, which shelter a large number of displaced people, had so far avoided bombardment.
The army has responded by beefing up its deployment around vital facilities in Port Sudan and has closed roads leading to the presidential palace and army command.
Port Sudan, home to the country's primary airport, army headquarters and a seaport, has been perceived as the safest place in the war-ravaged nation.
In March, the army ousted the RSF from its last footholds in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, but the paramilitary RSF holds some areas in Omdurman, directly across the Nile River, and has consolidated its position in west Sudan, splitting the nation into rival zones.
The conflict between the army and the RSF has unleashed waves of ethnic violence and created what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with several areas plunged into famine.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It ruined much of Khartoum, uprooted more than 12 million Sudanese from their homes and left about half of the 50 million population suffering from acute hunger.
Overall deaths are hard to estimate but a study published last year said the toll may have reached 61,000 in Khartoum state alone in the first 14 months of the conflict.