Warnings on water crisis in Egypt due to population increase

Cairo, Oct 2 (Prensa Latina) Rapid population growth is causing Egypt to face a serious water crisis because it needs two billion cubic meters of additional water every year, an authorized source warned.

October 2, 2023
11:33

Hani Sweilem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, speaking at an event in the New Administrative Capital, some 45 kilometers from Cairo, stressed that desalination techniques only provide an additional 500 million cubic meters.

Last July, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (Capmas) announced that the country surpassed 105.1 million inhabitants, 700,000 more than in January. According to Capmas, two million 183 million births were counted in 2022, just two thousand less than the previous year.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi warned last month of the challenge Egypt faces from rapid domestic population growth, which, he said, could lead the country to disaster.

“Some people are not aware of the seriousness of the challenge. Society and the state are paying the price,” he stressed.

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