Engineer Mamdouh Raslan, President of the Holding Company for Potable Water and Wastewater, opened the “Workshop for the Integrated Water Solutions Support Project,” which was organized by the USAID in the presence of the heads of water companies in Luxor, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, and Minya, and a number of engineering consulting offices.

In his speech, Raslan stressed that the state pays great attention to the governorates of Upper Egypt, and the coming period is witnessing a remarkable development in drinking water and sanitation services.

He stressed the continuous and extended cooperation with American aid in improving drinking water and sanitation services, noting that the holding company and its subsidiaries work as one fabric to achieve the desired goal.
He stressed that water companies in Egypt currently have capabilities that qualify them to manage projects, through transferring expertise and building capabilities.

Engineer Zaki Saad, head of the Water Resources Office team at USAID, said that the project provides integrated solutions to some areas of Upper Egypt governorates, with the aim of ensuring continuity of service and providing a role model in confronting water and sanitation problems.
Major General Mohamed Yahya, head of the Luxor Drinking Water and Sanitation Company, added that the population of the governorate is estimated at about 1.3 million people, and the population of the Esna center alone is 500,000 people. He continued that the project provides solutions for 9 villages in the eastern Esna district, which are (Al-Shaghab - Al-Dabaiba - Al-Mawla - Al-Deir - Al-Humaidat - Al-Hanadi - Al-Hala and Nag Al-Halaila - Arsenic - Al-Kalabiya) through the implementation of Al-Hanadi water purification station, with a design capacity of 17 thousand cubic meters per day, to serve 117 thousand people.

Mohamed Salah El-Din Abdel Ghaffar, head of the Assiut Drinking Water and Sanitation Company, explained that the project presents a proposal for integrated solutions for the Abnoub neighborhood (Al-Maabda area) to serve approximately 79 thousand people through the establishment of a water purification station with a capacity of 25 thousand cubic meters / day, in addition to establishing A sewage system for the villages of (Deir Drunka, Al-Ezbet El-Bahariya - New Drunka Village - Deir Drunka Village) to serve 8,000 people, provided that the project includes a sewage collection network, a lifting station, and an expulsion line.

In Sohag, the project presents a proposal for an integrated sewage system (collection network, pumping station, and main expulsion line) in the villages of Tama, Al-Hama, Al-Shouka, Gao Al-Gharb, and Al-Saksaka, to serve 81 thousand people, and in Qena, a proposal to implement the Farshout station with a design capacity of 34. One thousand cubic meters / day, to serve 183 thousand people in the Farshout center and its affiliated villages, Al-Azima water purification station in Minya Governorate, with a capacity of 12 thousand cubic meters / day, to serve 17.5 thousand people in the centers (Determination, Pride, Prosperity, Loyalty, and Al-Ula).

Engineer Mark White, head of the operations technology team at one of the consulting offices, said that the priorities for the project are determined according to a number of determinants, the most important of which are: the number of residents served, the population census, the social impacts of the project, the availability of land, the needs of the community, and the cost.

Quoted from Al-Ahram Gate website