In September 2021, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Egypt's cabinet had discussed building additional seawater desalination plants. The talks centred on the housing ministry's desalination plan running to 2050. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated that the government had drawn up a strategic plan for this purpose. The planning and housing ministers attended, together with the CEO of Egypt's sovereign fund. In April, Water Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty had put annual demand at about 114 billion m³, against only 74 billion m³ available.
The report showed that Egypt was treating desalination as part of its long-range water planning and involved its sovereign fund at an early stage. The stated gap between demand and supply underlined the pressure to act.
Source: Asharq Al-Awsat