In partnership with the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, USAID is expanding the capacity of wastewater ponds to handle Luxor's projected 2037 population of 330,000.

Mohamed Abdelwahab for USAID

Overview

Since 1978, USAID has invested more than $3.5 billion to bring potable water and sanitation services to over 25 million Egyptians. USAID constructed and rehabilitated wastewater systems in Cairo, Alexandria, and the three Suez Canal cities. Later, USAID helped the Government of Egypt (GOE) establish the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, a water regulator and a national umbrella organization to standardize and govern local water utility companies. USAID worked with the GOE to strengthen the policy, legal, and regulatory framework for water distribution and access. USAID supported the GOE in restructuring tariffs, helping water companies come closer to achieving cost recovery for operations and maintenance – in other words, sustainability and self-sufficiency. 

With reforms in place, USAID continues to support GOE plans to ensure self-sufficient water subsidiaries and increase access to clean water and sanitation services in underserved rural areas where citizens suffer from unreliable and sometimes low-quality potable water and few wastewater connections. Water pollution in canals and drains represents the greatest threat to public health in rural areas where wastewater is discharged without treatment and carries the risk of waterborne diseases. Moreover, population growth has led to an expansion of settlements near the heavily polluted, unsanitary waterways, putting residents further at risk. Current USAID efforts are improving access to services for more than one million rural residents, which is essential to their health and livelihoods.

Activities

EGYPT UTILITIES MANAGEMENT: USAID partners with Egypt’s national Holding Company for Water and Wastewater and its subsidiaries to improve access to water and sanitation in underserved communities of rural Upper Egypt by providing access to safe water, constructing wastewater facilities for basic sanitation, and supporting water and sanitation policy and governance. Better water and wastewater services and facilities contribute to improvements in health, tourism, trade, and investment. Implementing Partner: Holding Company for Water and Wastewater; Life of Project: September 1997 – September 2020; Total Estimated Cost: $400 million; Governorates: Assiut, Beni Suef, Fayoum, Luxor, Minya, Qena, Sohag 

NORTH SINAI INITIATIVE: In partnership with the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, USAID increases access to potable water and improves sanitation for residents in North Sinai, where access to clean water and sanitation services is severely limited. USAID activities improve water access and infrastructure through the drilling of deep wells; construction of desalination plants, water reservoirs, and potable water transmission and distribution lines; and procurement of water distribution trucks. The activity has provided direct, potable water access to 325,000 of the estimated 450,000 people living in a 10,000 square mile swath of desert and provided wastewater services to 110,000 people. Implementing Partner: Holding Company for Water and Wastewater; Life of Activity: October 2014 – September 2020; Total Estimated Cost: $50 million; Governorate: North Sinai

CONSTRUCTION MONITORING: This activity provides technical and oversight support to USAID’s staff in monitoring, implementing, and finalizing projects procured and managed by the Government of Egypt. Implementing Partner: Chemonics Egypt (Local Firm); Life of Activity: July 2015 – September 2020; Total Estimated Cost: $1.5 million; Governorates: Assiut, Beni Suef, Luxor, North Sinai, Sohag