The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved on Wednesday, 7 October 2009 in Tunis, a loan of Euro 53.33 million, equivalent to 48.56 million Units of Account (UA) to finance the Gabal El Asfar Waste-water Treatment Plant (GAWWTP) Project in Cairo, Egypt.

The project objective is to improve the quality of waste-water discharged into the drainage system in Cairo East, thereby contributing to improved sanitation and a clean environment for nearly 8 million people living in the area.

This phase will provide an additional waste-water treatment capacity of 500,000 cubic meters per day. The waste-water will undergo full treatment, including preliminary, primary and secondary treatment. Provisions are also made to chlorinate the effluent when all the waste-water reaching the drains is adequately treated. The proposed extension will bring the total treatment capacity at the Gabal El Asfar plant to 2.5 million cubic meters per day.

The Gabal El Asfar Waste-water Treatment Plant catchment area occupies the greater part of the eastern part of the city, and serves approximately 8 million people. When completed, the proposed additional treatment capacity of 500,000 cubic meters per day will serve an additional 2.5 million people in Cairo East.  The project will provide a clean environment through safe wastewater disposal. Other beneficiaries of the project include people living in villages downstream of the plant and along the system draining the effluent from the plant into Lake Manzala, with an estimated 785,800 people, who will also benefit from an improved environment and reduction of diseases associated with untreated waste-water.

The project is in line with the Bank’s 2008-2012 Medium-Term Strategy, which highlights the need for selectivity by giving particular operational focus on infrastructure development and governance, in order to promote a more robust private sector. It will be implemented in line with the Bank Group’s Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) policy.