CAIRO – Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger and other U.S. Embassy representatives, including USAID Mission Director Sherry F. Carlin and Senior Regional Agricultural Attache Mariano Beillard, visited Cairo’s main water treatment plant at Rod El Farag on March 12, 2019.

In 1986, the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), supported an $85 million expansion for the main water treatment plant at Rod El Farag, which continues to serve millions of residents of central Cairo.  Since 1978, USAID has invested more than $3.8 billion to help bring potable water and sanitation services to over 25 million Egyptians in all parts of the country, including the Delta, Nile Valley, and Sinai Peninsula, directly improving health and environmental conditions.

The Chargé and Mission Director discussed current and planned USAID activities in the water sector with Engineer Mamdouh Raslan, the Chairman of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW) and Mostafa Ahmed al-Shemy, the Chairman of the Cairo Potable Water Company, and met engineers and workers at the facility.  In 2004, USAID helped the Government of Egypt establish the HCWW, a national umbrella organization to standardize and govern local water utility companies, as well as the Egyptian Water Regulatory Authority.  USAID also launched a program to strengthen institutional capacity and the policy, legal, and regulatory framework for water distribution and access.

According to Chargé Goldberger, “This facility and many more like it represent the United States’ commitment to the Egyptian people, with whom we share strong ties of friendship and cooperation in many fields. We plan to continue our activities in Egypt’s water sector in partnership with the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater.”

The Embassy looks forward to marking World Water Day on March 22. On that day we will highlight our contribution to helping make clean water available to Egyptians. The HCWW is our key partner in this effort and we highly appreciate its expertise and competence. We value Egypt’s wise management of its precious water resources.