The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed the first finance agreement worth EUR 126 million (out of a total financing support of EUR 172 million) to improve wastewater infrastructure and access to sanitation services in the Fayoum Governorate in Egypt.
The Fayoum Wastewater Expansion Project, which is part of the EIB’s new Economic Resilience Initiative, thus benefitting from an EU guarantee, aims at improving sanitation services for up to approximately 940,000 people, raising health and living standards and stimulating economic activities in the Fayoum Governorate.
The project will also contribute to the depollution of Lake Qarun, one of Egypt’s important natural landmarks with significant historical, natural and scientific importance. In addition, it will provide employment for skilled and unskilled workers in the region.
The project will be implemented in two phases during 2018-2025. It involves the construction of 8 new wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the expansion of 9 existing WWTPs, the rehabilitation of 10 existing WWTPs, the construction of associated sewerage networks, including 139 new pumping stations, for currently unserved rural villages, and the provision of on-site sanitation facilities and evacuation trucks for around 400,000 people.
The project is being co-financed together with the EBRD and the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF), which is managed by the European Commission and will be contributing a substantial grant amount of EUR 37 million to the project to fund both investments and technical assistance.
The EIB’s operations in Egypt aim at improving the resilience of the Egyptian economy by investing in priority sectors. In 2017, the EU bank provided finance of EUR 472 million to support private sector development and vital infrastructure investments in the public sector in the country.
Khaled Elnimr, +352437970482, k.elnimr@eib.org
