Egypt, France’s AFD expand water sector collaboration

Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hany Swailem, met with the Head of the Africa Department at the French Development Agency (AFD), Sandra Kassab, to discuss current and future areas of cooperation between Egypt and France in the water sector.

The discussions focused on a proposed study to modernise and enhance the operation of the Delta Barrages, aiming to improve water distribution, optimise maintenance costs, and integrate hydraulic and mechanical control alternatives.

The meeting also reviewed plans to develop a water management and monitoring system for the Ismailia Canal and to update previous studies to enhance its operation.

Additionally, the meeting addressed the preparation for Egypt’s National Drainage Programme IV (NDP4) and the development of a master plan for the maintenance and rehabilitation of pumping stations to improve efficiency and energy use.

The meeting further discussed cooperation in training and capacity building for water specialists, including advanced training programmes on real-time water monitoring, artificial intelligence applications, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for water distribution.

The discussion explored technical cooperation on adopting advanced technologies such as acoustic current meters and remote flow measurement devices to enhance Egypt’s transition to Water Management System 2.0, shifting from water level-based distribution to flow-based management for improved data accuracy and decision-making.

The talks also covered database development and the creation of centralised data management and decision-support platforms to enhance water network monitoring and predictive analysis.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: M. S. Salama