Egypt Receives $300m Loan to Complete Ambitious Rural Sanitation Program

The World Bank has announced that it is to grant a loan of $300 million to Egypt for its Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program, according to Egypt Today. The extensive and ambitious program aims to improve sanitation services in Egypt's poorest governorates.

The program, launched in 2015 and worth $550 million, was established as a support for the National Rural Sanitation Progeam, which, itself, is working on providing good quality sanitation services for around 50 million Egyptians in rural areas. Part of this included connected homes to major waterways, improving sanitation systems and, most interestingly, decentralising services by making them more accountable to citizens.

The World Bank loan will continue the work started, which has included setting up a performance-based grant system, for local water and sanitation companies, with the aim of connecting 167,000 homes. The loan will also go towards upgrading wastewater treatment facilities, as well as building new ones.

“Ensuring that every Egyptian has access to good quality sanitation services is a national priority,’’ said Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr. "Good sanitation is critical for protecting the health of our population, Egypt’s most precious resource, and ensuring that we can all live full, productive lives.”

Main image of Suez Wastewater Treatment Plant from The Suez Times.