Water-Poor Egypt Eyes Increase in Desalination Capacity in 5 Years
2021-10-28
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1Egypt is worried about its supply of fresh water.
2To help deal with the problem, it is offering financial assistance to private companies to build 17 new desalination factories over the next 5 years.
3The process of desalination removes salt from water.
4The new factories will increase water desalination in the country by 300 percent.
5They will operate with solar energy.
6The plan fits with Egypt's push to increase its sources of fresh water for a fast-growing population.
7Currently, it is facing competition for Nile River water from a large hydropower dam that Ethiopia is building upstream.
8The financial assistance is designed to bring in private investment and technological development.
9Egypt has struggled in both of these areas.
10Investment in new desalination factories would begin with the government guaranteeing to buy the water and re-sell it to its citizens and industries at a much lower price, said Ayman Soliman.
11He is the head of the Egyptian government's investment fund.
12He did not estimate how much it would cost the government.
13Currently, Egypt desalinates about 800,000 cubic meters of water a day.
14The new factories would produce about 2.8 million cubic meters of water a day.
15That amount would later increase by 100 percent.
16The government is looking for 6.4 million cubic meters by 2050, reports the government's investment fund.
17"We've already solicited offers. What's happening is a combination between a competitive process and a limited negotiation process," Soliman told the Reuters news agency.
18Egypt's military has been used to increase infrastructure development under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
19The military has already built 27 desalination factories.
20In addition, private desalination companies have built factories near resorts along Egypt's sea coasts.
21During a proposed 25-year period of financial assistance, companies would bring in their own building teams and use renewable energy like solar power.
22Soliman said many companies have expressed interest in the plan.
23"We've received offers to build whatever capacity we need," Soliman said.
24He added that there is enough demand by investors to build many more factories than planned.
25The government's investment fund hopes to reduce the price of desalination by 20 to 25 percent by using renewable energy and creative financing.
26Local solar energy producer KarmSolar was one of the first to publicly say it plans to bid for part of the project.
27It claims it can lower costs by selling electricity and water using renewable energy.
28It has begun building a 200-cubic-meter-per-day desalination factory at Marsa Shagra on the southern Red Sea coast.
29For the past five years, the company has used solar and fuel to supply electricity to resorts in the area.
30"The machines for digging the wells are there, and we've put the orders for the procurement," said Ibrahim Metawe.
31He is the manager of the new plant, which plans to begin pumping water in the early months of 2022.
32The water intake wells are set a short distance away from the sea to reduce the effects on the environment.
33In sunny Egypt, excess water may be produced at the hottest part of the day.
34Karmsolar is considering several ways to make use of that water, including selling it in bottles.
35I'm Susan Shand.
1Egypt is worried about its supply of fresh water. To help deal with the problem, it is offering financial assistance to private companies to build 17 new desalination factories over the next 5 years. 2The process of desalination removes salt from water. 3The new factories will increase water desalination in the country by 300 percent. They will operate with solar energy. 4The plan fits with Egypt's push to increase its sources of fresh water for a fast-growing population. Currently, it is facing competition for Nile River water from a large hydropower dam that Ethiopia is building upstream. 5The financial assistance is designed to bring in private investment and technological development. Egypt has struggled in both of these areas. 6Investment in new desalination factories would begin with the government guaranteeing to buy the water and re-sell it to its citizens and industries at a much lower price, said Ayman Soliman. He is the head of the Egyptian government's investment fund. He did not estimate how much it would cost the government. 7Currently, Egypt desalinates about 800,000 cubic meters of water a day. The new factories would produce about 2.8 million cubic meters of water a day. That amount would later increase by 100 percent. The government is looking for 6.4 million cubic meters by 2050, reports the government's investment fund. 8"We've already solicited offers. What's happening is a combination between a competitive process and a limited negotiation process," Soliman told the Reuters news agency. 9Egypt's military has been used to increase infrastructure development under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The military has already built 27 desalination factories. In addition, private desalination companies have built factories near resorts along Egypt's sea coasts. 10Solar energy 11During a proposed 25-year period of financial assistance, companies would bring in their own building teams and use renewable energy like solar power. Soliman said many companies have expressed interest in the plan. 12"We've received offers to build whatever capacity we need," Soliman said. He added that there is enough demand by investors to build many more factories than planned. 13The government's investment fund hopes to reduce the price of desalination by 20 to 25 percent by using renewable energy and creative financing. 14Cutting costs 15Local solar energy producer KarmSolar was one of the first to publicly say it plans to bid for part of the project. It claims it can lower costs by selling electricity and water using renewable energy. It has begun building a 200-cubic-meter-per-day desalination factory at Marsa Shagra on the southern Red Sea coast. For the past five years, the company has used solar and fuel to supply electricity to resorts in the area. 16"The machines for digging the wells are there, and we've put the orders for the procurement," said Ibrahim Metawe. He is the manager of the new plant, which plans to begin pumping water in the early months of 2022. 17The water intake wells are set a short distance away from the sea to reduce the effects on the environment. 18In sunny Egypt, excess water may be produced at the hottest part of the day. Karmsolar is considering several ways to make use of that water, including selling it in bottles. 19I'm Susan Shand. 20The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 21____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23desalination - n. the process of removing salt from something, such as water 24hydropower - n. electricity produced from machines that are run by moving water 25upstream - adj. in the direction opposite to the flow in a stream 26fund - n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose 27solicit - v. to ask for something from someone 28infrastructure - n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly 29resort - n. a place where people go for vacations 30capacity - n. the ability to hold or contain people or things - usually singular 31bid - v. an offer to pay a particular amount of money for something 32procurement - n. getting something from someone 33We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.