Egypt: Water desalination revolutionised

Egypt'’s scientists have developed new technology to reduce the cost of water desalination from LE10 (about $1.70) to LE4 per cubic metre. The new technology will boost cultivation in Sinai and the Western Desert.

The chairman of the Holding Co. for Drinking water and Sanitation has confirmed that the new cheap technology will boost cultivation in Sinai and the Western Desert. General Sayyed Nasr told the press that we have a team of university professors and agricultural experts to thank for this breakthrough.

It has also been disclosed that they are now looking at ways to reduce the cost of water desalination even further, to only LE2 per cubic metre. Nasr, who was an engineer in the Army, explained that the new technology mainly depends on solar cells. He is confident that Egyptian scientists will soon win international accolades for this. “The new technology will revolutionise this industry globally,” he said. “Agriculture in Egypt will also witness breathtaking changes and developments.”

According to Gen. Nasr, the new water desalination technology will help irrigate millions of acres in the Western Desert and Sinai Peninsula, without having to use Nile water. Fortunately, the revelation of this new technology coincides with the intense talks the Egyptian Government has been engaged in with other Nile Basin states over river quotas. 

The issue of the Nile water developed into a huge headache under Hosni Mubarak's regime, which arrogantly mishandled suggestions by African countries to redistribute the water. Mubarak's outrageous water policies strained Cairo's relationship with Ethiopia, after the latter revealed a plan to construct a giant dam. The Egyptian nation voiced deep concern,  after cynically miscalculated reports warned that Ethiopia's water projects would hinder the flow of river water to Egypt. Egyptians were also warned that Ethiopia's proposed 'Millennium Dam' would drastically reduce Egypt's quota, leaving everyone thirsty and causing our crops to wither. Now that Mubarak's regime has gone, the situation is far less tense. 

During his recent visit to Cairo, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi dispelled Egyptians' fears about their water quota, while he and his Egyptian counterpart witnessed the signing of several joint co-operation agreements.