Egypt: €10 million in new EU support for improving access to clean water and sanitation

The European Commission has approved new funding of €10 million to improve access to drinking water and sanitation for over 15 million people in Egypt. This comes as a first contribution from the €303 million European Water Initiative led by top European Financial Institutions to support Egypt’s water supply and sanitation sector for the benefit of the population.

The new support will go towards improving construction and rehabilitation of the infrastructure needed to supply water (e.g. mechanical equipment and pipelines), as well as technical assistance such as financial planning and project management.

"Providing Egyptian citizens with universal access to drinking water supply and environmentally-friendly sanitation service was amongst the crucial demands for social justice made during the Arab Spring last year. As a result, we have transformed it in one of the key priorities of our support to Egypt," said EU Enlargement Commissioner, Štefan Füle.

With the support of the Improved Water and Wastewater Services - Phase II project, the percentage of coverage of good quality drinking water supply will reach 95% and 40% for environmentally-friendly wastewater and sanitation services in both urban and rural areas in the four governorates of Assuit, Minia, Qena and Sohag.

The new €10 million funding is part of the second phase of the European Water Initiative with a total budget of € 303 million. A second funding contribution of €13 million will be provided by the European Commission for the same purpose from the Neighbourhood Investment Facility.