In August 2017, Egypt's housing minister Moustafa Madbouly announced 16 desalination plants with a combined capacity of about 473,000 m³/day. They were being built in Matruh, North and South Sinai, the Red Sea and Port Said to supply new coastal cities such as New Alamein and East Port Said. According to the national potable water authority, the largest items were a plant in El-Alamein with 150,000 m³/day and two plants in Port Said totalling 170,000 m³/day. The aim was to keep Nile water free for agriculture.
Measured against the authority's 39 existing plants with 235,600 m³/day, the programme would have roughly tripled capacity. The report showed how closely Egypt tied coastal development to desalination.
Source: Daily News Egypt