Water Supply and Sanitation in Egypt - Responsibility For Water Supply and Sanitation - Service Provision - Private Sector Participation

Private Sector Participation

The government's support for private sector participation in water supply and sanitation is focused on build-operate-transfer (BOT) for wastewater treatment plants, through which private finance is mobilized. This approach is limited to Cairo and Alexandria where external donors had become less keen to provide assistance. The first BOT wastewater for US$ 160 million for the New Cairo wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 250,000 m3/day was awarded in 2010 and is due to be completed at the end of 2012. Contracts for another large wastewater treatment plant, the upgrade of the 1.2 million m3/day Abu Rawash plant for US$ 500 million, was in the prequalification process in November 2012. The Holding Company for Water and Wastewater also plans to launch BOTs for seawater desalination on the Red Sea and the Sinai, together with the government's Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) unit that would provide a sovereign guarantee. The private sector has also become involved in other functions beyond construction and consulting. For example, in Cairo, Suez and Ismailia a private company has been engaged to inspect water and wastewater networks, reduce leakage and install water meters.