The US Chargé d'Affaires, Thomas Goldberger, and the Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El-Anany, and the Alexandria Governor, Abdul Aziz Qansua, announced the completion of a groundwater lowering system at the catacombs of Kom El-Shuqafa, Alexandria. "This site has rich cultural significance and has the potential to attract tourists and generate revenue," said Goldberger during a Monday statement of the embassy. The US is committed to continuing the bilateral partnership with the Egyptian government in order to conserve Egypt's cultural heritage and increase tourism, he mentioned. The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), contributed with $5.7m for a system to lower the groundwater level in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the National Organisation for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage. The system preserves the site from erosion and enables tourists to access the lowest level of the catacombs. Since 1995, the USAID has provided $100m in assistance to conserve monuments and masterpieces spanning the full range of Egypt's long cultural heritage from Pharaonic times to the late Ottoman period. The USAID's financed restoration and training programmes help ensure that Egypt can capitalise on the sector's traditional role as an engine of economic growth and employment. Since 1978, the USAID has invested $30bn to support Egypt's human and economic development.
