Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has inaugurated on Monday Bahr El-Baqar wastewater treatment plant, the biggest of its kind in the world.
The plant, in the northern governorate of Port Said, cost 18 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.1 billion) to build and be able to process 5.6 million cubic metres of water daily.
The triple-treated water from the Bahr Al-Baqar plant will be transferred to North Sinai to contribute to the reclamation of 476,000 feddans, while the 190km-long Bahr Al Baqr drain stretches from South Cairo through Port Said, Ismailia, Sharqiya, Dakahlia, and Qalyubia to Lake Manzala.
Bahr El-Baqar wastewater treatment plant
The plant comprises four water treatment lines with a daily processing capacity of 1.250 million cubic metres each.
The project was built by Arab Contractors, Orascom Construction, and the Armed Forces Engineering Authority – will be used to optimise Egypt’s water resources, and produce water that is suitable for irrigation.
It was partially funded by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, and has directly and indirectly generated around 40,000 jobs.
Three Guinness World Records
The facility holds the Guinness World Record for largest wastewater treatment plant, then most recently it earned a second Guinness World Record for largest sludge treatment plant given its a solar-powered sludge drying system, which is 250,000 square metres large.
