Egypt to build desalination plant in Iraq

Egypt plans to build a desalination plant on the Euphrates River to help address acute water shortages in southern Iraq amid lack of rainfall and poor management of water resources.

Mohamed Sabry
Mohamed Sabry
Jun 28, 2022
Buffalo graze by the bed of the dried-up Diyala River.
Buffalo graze by the bed of the dried-up Diyala River, which was a tributary of the Tigris, in the Al-Fadiliyah district east of Baghdad, on June 26, 2022. Iraq's drought reflects a decline in the level of waterways due to the lack of rain and lower flows from upstream neighboring countries Iran and Turkey. — AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

An Egyptian delegation of water treatment experts visited Iraq this month for talks with Iraqi officials on addressing an acute water crisis in the Arab country.

The Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said June 20 that the Egyptian delegation discussed a proposal for building a water desalination plant on the Euphrates River. The station will be used to purify and desalinate seawater to help ease water shortages in southern Iraq.

Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati said the visit was part of an agreement between Cairo and Baghdad to benefit from Egypt’s expertise in water management.

“Egypt and Iraq are keen on making the best use of their water resources amid challenges facing the two countries in the field of water,” he added.

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