Egypt is seeking to scale up private sector investment and concessional financing for water desalination projects through a coordinated effort with a coalition of international financial institutions, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation said.
During an expanded meeting convened to discuss sustainable infrastructure, Minister Rania Al-Mashat met with representatives from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to mobilise technical assistance and funding.
The talks, held under the directives of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, focused on the water pillar of the NWFE national country platform. The initiative aims to enhance climate resilience and sustainable water resource management through public-private partnerships.
“The water sector represents a key pillar of cooperation with international institutions and development partners,” Al-Mashat said, noting that joint efforts are designed to incentivise greater private sector participation in line with state development priorities.
The meeting included high-level representation from the French Development Agency (AFD), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the German Development Bank (KfW), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Discussions also addressed the expansion plans of ACWA Power, represented by its Egypt CEO Hussein Amin, alongside delegates from Proparco and the EBRD’s regional head of sustainable infrastructure, Gonzalo Correa.
Al-Mashat highlighted that previous cooperation has already delivered major infrastructure, including the Bahr El-Baqar wastewater treatment system—one of the world’s largest facilities—and the Al-Mahsama plant. These projects provide treated water to expand agricultural land in Sinai.
The government’s strategy builds on a 2023 partnership agreement between the IFC, the EBRD, and Egypt’s Sovereign Fund. That agreement provides technical advisory services for four seawater desalination plants intended to supply an initial 335,000 cubic metres of clean water per day.
According to ministry data, those projects are expected to eventually expand to a capacity of 650,000 cubic metres per day in Matrouh Governorate and the North Coast as part of Egypt’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting was also attended by Abdelrahman Diaw, AfDB Country Manager; Clemence Vidal, AFD Director; Saad Sabra, IFC Country Manager for Egypt; and Reem El Saady, Deputy Head of the EBRD Office in Egypt.