Egypt signed Thursday €62 million (US$68 million) grants from the European Union to support developmental projects in the country. The two agreements were attended by Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, Minister of Housing Moustafa Madbouli, Minister of Education Helaly El-Sherbeeny, as well as the secretary-general of the National Council for Childhood & Motherhood (NCCM) Hala Abou Ali, and Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt, James Moran. The first agreement worth €32 million is to go for the "Kafr El Sheikh Wastewater Expansion Programme" has been designed to improve the quality of irrigation water in the governorate. This will contribute to increasing health standards for local residents and the environmental quality of the Nile, Lake Burullus,and the Mediterranean Sea at large. The total cost of this strategic project is estimated at €164 million and the total EU contribution amounts to €32 million in grants. The remaining amount is covered by loans provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The project supports the construction of new wastewater treatment plants and first time full wastewater collection networks in the Kafr El Sheikh governorate, and will ensure their proper operation once they are in place. Ambassador Moran said "the project seeks to improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands Egyptians and is a remarkable example of how local and international partners can join forces and resources". He noted that, in total, an impressive 500,000 inhabitants of the Kafr El Sheikh governorate are estimated to directly benefit from the wastewater treatment plants and collection networks that will be provided by this project. The project is expected to create 37,000 jobs during its planning and construction phase and 1,400 permanent jobs for the operation of the new infrastructure once established. Th eHolding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW) representing the Ministry of Housing is the local partner of this project, whose direct beneficiary is the Kafr El-Sheikh Water Supply and Sanitation Company (KSWSSC). As for the second agreement, it is dedicated for "Expanding Access to Education and Protection of at Risk Children" project aims to increase access to primary quality community-based education to children in the age group 6 to 14 and will contribute to improve the learning outcomes of the most vulnerable and socially excluded. The EU funded project will help set up 1,200 community schools in disadvantaged Egyptian governorates with the lowest enrolment rates. These schools will target an estimated 30,000 out-of-school and most vulnerable children in the age group 6 to 14. The project will further equip 200 public schools for the inclusion of 6,000 children with disabilities. All children attending these200 schools –a total of about 100,000–will directly benefit from the improved quality of teaching and school environment under this project. In the area of child protection, the project will strengthen the "Child Protection Committees" or "CPC", which represent the backbone of Egypt's child protection mechanism. CPC will be strengthened, among others, through the establishment of direct links with Government and non-government service providers; pilot child protection services financed by the EU will allow the expansion of the concept of "model services", in line with international best practices in this field. The total budget of this project amounts to €36.15 million, with an EU financing of €30 million. The programme will be implemented by the UNICEF, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, as well as an important group of national and local partners.
