Dr. Sayed Ismail, Deputy Minister of Housing for Infrastructure Affairs, representing the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, participated in the activities of the Fourth International Conference on Membrane Technology and its Applications, organized by the National Research Center, represented by the Flat Filters and Membrane Technology Group, in cooperation with Port Said University and the Water Technology Association. Under the auspices of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Minister of Trade and Industry, and in the presence of the Governor of Port Said, the President of the Suez Canal Authority, and the President of Port Said University, the Deputy Minister of Housing was accompanied by each of the leaders of the Drinking Water, Wastewater and Consumer Protection Regulatory Authority and the Holding Company for Drinking Water and Wastewater.
During his participation in the conference, Dr. Sayed Ismail began his speech by welcoming the attendees, providing an overview of the structure of the drinking water and sanitation facilities sector in the Ministry of Housing, and clarifying the size of the efforts made to implement projects during the previous years to increase coverage rates of drinking water and sanitation services and improve the level of services provided, while maintaining Sustainability of its provision, referring to the rates of coverage of current drinking water and sanitation services and the plan to rationalize water consumption and maximize the use of available water resources.
During his participation, the Deputy Minister of Housing for Infrastructure Affairs reviewed the position of the existing and under-implemented desalination plants and the stations intended to be established within the strategic plan for desalination of sea water until 2050, which is an opportunity for scientific research and development to help choose the most appropriate technologies and innovative ideas in seawater desalination or reuse. The safe return of saline water while reducing the cost of operation and maintenance and the use of new and renewable energy in the operation of these stations, stressing the importance of local manufacturing of membranes and the various tasks required for the implementation of desalination plants, as well as the need for cooperation and concerted efforts to make the process of manufacturing membranes successful locally to meet the needs of the local market, and the need for scientific research strongly as one of the parties to these efforts.
Dr. Sayed Ismail presented the ministry’s plans to encourage the participation of the private sector in the implementation of seawater desalination plant projects, integrated management projects for sludge resulting from the sewage treatment process, and bilateral and triple sewage and industrial treatment plants projects, within the framework of achieving the objectives of the state ownership policy document to encourage sector participation. and overcome any obstacles you may encounter.
The conference aims to clarify the role of membrane technology in various industrial applications and its uses in purifying drinking water, desalinating sea water, and improving the sewage treatment process for the purpose of safe reuse. The conference also aims to deepen the role of scientific research in opening new channels to link academia with industry in this field and use intelligence tools. The conference also included a broad discussion on the localization of the membrane industry locally to meet the needs required for periodic maintenance of the existing desalination plants and provide the requirements for the implementation of desalination plants from the strategic plan for desalination.
It should be noted that 99 desalination plants with a total capacity of 1.21 million m3/day have been implemented, and 11 desalination plants with a total capacity of 228 thousand m3/day are being implemented, bringing the total capacity of the stations that have been and are being implemented to 1.44 million m3/day, and it is planned to reach about 10 million m3/day of desalinated water through the implementation of the desalination strategic plan stations, which were prepared to cover the required needs in the coastal governorates until 2050, with a total capacity of about 8.85 million m3/day. The rehabilitation of about 17 local and international alliances has also been completed through the Sovereign Fund of Egypt in cooperation with Representatives of the Ministry of Housing and the Suez Canal Authority, in preparation for the start of implementation work at the desalination plants within the plan.