CAIRO — Egypt is seeking to move forward in the implementation of new seawater desalination projects in cooperation with the Russian Rusnano Group, which specializes in this field, to fill the country’s water deficit that exceeds 20 billion cubic meters per year amid the faltering negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Tripartite negotiations over the GERD continue to stall as the last round of talks held Jan. 10 failed to make any progress between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
In a Jan. 22 statement, Abdel Moneim al-Terras, chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization, said that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi directed the government to boost cooperation among the state’s industrial and research institutions and exploit the national manufacturing capabilities to promote local manufacturing of water desalination plant equipment.
Terras’ statement came during a video conference held between the Rusnano Group and the University of Alexandria in Egypt in order to discuss cooperation in the field of seawater desalination. The two parties agreed during the talks to further discuss the establishment of a specialized factory in Egypt for the manufacture of seawater desalination membranes in partnership with the Russian side. They also agreed to localize this industry in order to reduce the price of a cubic meter of water and achieve added value for the national industry.
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