CAIRO: The African Development Bank signed this week a ?53.3 million loan agreement with Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation to finance Cairo's Gabal El-Asfar Wastewater Treatment Plant (GAWWTP). The long-term foreign currency loan represents 23 percent of the project's total cost, according to a statement from the bank. Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboul Naga and ADB Regional Director Jacob Kolster signed the agreement. "The primary objective is to strengthen the efforts made by the Egyptian government towards wider and improved coverage of sanitation services in the country, Kolster said. Egypt has recently upped investments in infrastructure projects, and much of the stimulus package spending has gone to building roadways and wastewater management projects. The project will provide an additional wastewater treatment capacity of at least 500,000 cubic meters per day to the existing capacity of GAWWTP, the statement read. The wastewater will undergo full treatment, including preliminary, primary and secondary treatments. Provisions are also made to chlorinate the effluent before final disposal. The contractor building the new facilities will also be responsible for operation and maintenance for two years and to provide on-the-job training to government staff working on the prject. The catchment area of GAWWTP covers the greater part of the Eastern Nile Bank of Greater Cairo, home to approximately 8 million people, the bank said. When completed, the additional wastewater treatment capacity will serve an additional 2.5 million people in East Cairo. -Daily News Egypt
