Egypt and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed on October 17 an EUR 214 mn deal to support the Kitchener Drain depollution project, Invest-Gate reports.

The total financing comprises EUR 148.3 mn from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in addition to an EUR 46 mn grant from the Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF), EIB said in an official statement.

The deal was inked by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and EIB President Werner Hoyer in Luxembourg and is part of EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), aiming to improve the sanitation and solid waste services for approximately 6 mn people in the Nile delta region, the bank added.

The 69 kilometers long Kitchener Drain is Egypt’s main agriculture drain and is spanning across the governorates of Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbia, and Dakahlia in the Nile Delta region.

“It is structured as an integrated depollution project comprised of investments in wastewater and sanitation, solid waste, and drain rehabilitation – a first of its kind in Egypt,” according to the statement.

Under the project, nearly 24 water waste treatment plants will be upgraded and six drainages will be expanded, according to Nasr.

Commenting on the deal, Hoyer said, “Overall, the project will contribute to raising the living standards of Egyptians in many governorates. Our finance for the project comes under the Economic Resilience Initiative that seeks to improve the resilience of the Egyptian economy and build stronger socio-economic infrastructure.”

According to the statement, the agreement brings EIB’s total finance to Egypt in 2018 to about EUR 740 mn, covering water and wastewater sectors, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and mid-cap companies as the main beneficiaries.

The bank is keen to “extend additional financing to projects in the wastewater and transport sector (up to additional EUR 430 mn planned for these sectors) and in support of SMEs and Mid-caps until year-end.”