“The Story of a Homeland” in an extensive meeting with Engineer Ahmed Gaber, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of the Alexandria Drinking Water Company.

She moderated the interview and prepared it for publication:

Maggie Al-Masry

Today's meeting with an official who understands the role of the media in serving society. Therefore, it was not strange that engineer Ahmed Jaber took the initiative to welcome us and be ready to receive us when we presented to him the desire of our newspaper, “The Story of a Homeland,” to conduct a dialogue with him.

Despite all his concerns around the clock every day

We present to you the text of our interview with His Excellency.

“The Story of a Homeland”: In light of what everyone knows about your interest in developing performance

What new services did the company provide to the public?

Engineer Ahmed Jaber: The water company began a long time ago to provide a group of services that can save time and effort for the company’s customers.

Among these new services is the launch of the Water Company’s website, which provides many services online without the need to go to the company’s branches, as through the website one can pay bills, find out consumption, contract for new meters, and many other services.

We have also provided an additional service to facilitate citizens in all areas affiliated with the company by preparing mobile service vehicles, which are considered mobile branches that provide all the services provided by the company’s branches and are directed to several areas throughout Alexandria in order to facilitate the public and reduce pressure and crowding in the branches.

The company also made consumption-saving parts, which are a small piece that is installed on the water tap to reduce water consumption, as it saves 40 to 60% of the value of the water consumed. It is cheap and available in all the company’s branches.

“The Story of a Homeland”: How did the company provide consumers with the means that played a role in resolving the conflict between the water company and the public?

Engineer Ahmed Jaber: We used modern, automated methods provided by the company, which is an electronic meter reader device, which photographs the meter and, via a computer, determines the value of the consumption bill.

With the presence of a prepaid meter that works on charging, it is a meter programmed not to cut off water on Fridays, holidays, and official holidays and after 12 p.m., even if the balance runs out. It is a meter that does not require a reader or collector and works by charging the balance in advance.

- Hekayat Watan: What about the latest services provided by the company at the present time?

Engineer Ahmed Jaber: We launched an unprecedented service, “The Water Company’s Plumber,” which is a service that the company provides to everyone who needs home maintenance work. The company provides a plumber to carry out the required work at prices competitive with market prices and with the guarantee of the water company.

Story of a Nation: We learned about the existence of innovative and unconventional ideas that you implemented in the company to rationalize expenses and develop resources. What are they and to what extent have you achieved your goals?

Engineer Ahmed Jaber:

We started from the concept of applying the idea of self-sufficiency, so we established carpentry workshops within the water company, and the idea was initially to provide office furniture for the company’s branches in Alexandria and its subsidiaries, saving huge amounts.

When the idea met with great success, these workshops began producing distinctive home furniture and providing it to the company’s young people about to get married at prices much lower than market prices. We seek to provide the public with the opportunity to benefit from this workshop as soon as possible, God willing.

We also provided everything the company needed ourselves by establishing ready-made clothing manufacturing workshops to provide uniforms for the company’s employees and subsidiaries. Thus, the company saved large sums of money that were spent on purchasing uniforms every year.

Story of a Nation: We return to presenting a problem that people suffer from due to lack of water at night

Engineer Ahmed Jaber: The company’s water is clean and conforms to specifications 100 percent

The company cleans the filters and filters in the purification stations, and this process is done at night, as it leads to some weakness in the water, especially in the upper floors.

We conclude the dialogue by thanking the official who did not begrudge our readers answers to questions that were on their minds and that we brought to him in the midst of his concerns.