United Kingdom announces first water infrastructure resilience projects in Egypt

The United Kingdom government has announced the launch of the first two projects under its Room 2 Run guarantee program. The projects, an €80m Egyptian wastewater project and a €37m water sanitation project in Senegal, both focus on water supply and sanitation and will offer benefits to millions in their respective African countries.

Andrew Mitchell, UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, made the announcement on Wednesday, at a joint press briefing in Sharm El Sheikh, held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings.

Mitchell was joined by Rania Al-Mashat, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, African Development Bank Senior Vice President Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala and Senegal’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Oulimata Sarr.

The Room to Run Guarantee, first announced at COP-26, is a $2 billion guarantee provided to the African Development Bank by the UK with $1.6 billion in cover, and with City of London insurers covering $400 million. By partially protecting the Bank against the risk of default on some of its loans, the Room to Roam Guarantee enables the Bank to provide an additional $2 billion of climate finance to Africa by 2027, with a 50-50 split between adaptation and mitigation.

In Egypt, the Water Recycling for Agriculture - Gabel El Asfar Wastewater Treatment Project, is the largest in Africa wastewater treatment plant in terms of capacity and the second largest in the world. It produces up to 60%  of the electricity it needs for running the plant.