Is our infrastructure prepared for rainy season this year? Rainy season in Egypt has grown to become a looming source of anxiety around this time of year. The effects of 2020’s infamous Dragon Storm, which reportedly caused the deaths of 21 people, widespread power outages, and over EGP 1.2 bn in infrastructure damage are painful reminders of our lacking drainage infrastructure, which up until last year, had still posed an issue for most governorates across the country.

We spoke with government officials and industry experts to get more information on our preparations ahead of winter season, and to see whether our infrastructure is ready to handle future heavy bouts of rainfall and flooding as climate change makes them a more regular occurrence.

The good news:The government says that we’re ready for this year’s winter season. An official with firsthand knowledge of the matter who spoke to Enterprise says that early flood forecasting systems, nationwide coordination across governorates, and cost monitoring mechanisms, along with new infrastructure projects, have collectively put us in good shape for the season.

In other good(ish) news: We may be getting less rain than usual this year, especially in Cairo, Youm7 quotes the former head of the Meteorological Authority, Ahmed Abdel Aal as saying. Preliminary forecasts for the season signal a warmer and drier winter season than usual, he said.

We’re still spending big on preparations: The government spent EGP 6.7 bn to establish 1.6k new sewer links in Upper Egypt, North and South Sinai, the Red Sea, and Matrouh, the Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry said in a statement in October. The new investments aim at linking our sewer network to Egypt’s dry river beds, which would then flow into the Red Sea or into freshwater lakes for use in agriculture and the New Delta project. The new projects have a total storage capacity of 350 mn cubic meters, and will go a long way in protecting us against flooding, our source tells us.

Spending has gone up this year to match rising prices, our source said. The projects themselves had been in the works since 2021 – however, the price of developing and reinforcing our sewer network has gone up significantly since the plans were announced.

How we’ve prepared: The ministry is conducting maintenance checks for 117 flood spillways in particularly vulnerable areas in Upper Egypt, the statement said. The ministry is also reducing water levels in canals and drains in areas where the forecast indicates heavy rainfall to allow the drainage system to absorb additional amounts of water, and has prepared lifting stations and emergency units to sort out any water congestion, the statement said.

There’s moreto come in 2024: The government also has plans to spend another EGP 4.6 bn on 69 more sewer works in Upper Egypt until 2024, and an additional EGP 5.6 bn on 600 new sewer links in the Red Sea, Sinai, and Matrouh, the statement said.

In the bigger picture, the goal is to turn our drainage problems into a water scarcity solution: The government has invested bns of EGP in upgrading our drainage system, with projects including new dams and upgrades in our sewage network to protect against the dangers of floods while storing the water for future irrigation use. The government is focusing on finding ways to store the yearly influx of water to then use in its EGP 300 bn New Delta reclamation project, our source tells us.

Meanwhile, Alexandria is coming up with new solutions for its annual rainfall woes: Alexandria’s challenges with rainwater are a result of its narrow streets and congested residential areas, which have led Alexandria University and the Holding Company for Drinking Water and Wastewater to work on a rainwater management project since last year, a consultant for the rainwater management project in Alexandria, Waleed Abdel Azeem, told local media in the summer (watch, runtime 6:09).

They’re progressing well: They have already identified 150 hotspots across the city that are especially prone to accumulations of rainfall, and have already cleared hotspots in El Shatby, The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Sporting in Cleopatra, and Loran in Alexandria, according to Abd El Azeem. 12 of the identified hotspots have been dealt with, and the amount of water removed has had a positive impact on 10 other points indirectly, he said. A portion of the water will be moved to El Matar Lake, and the rest will be used in the New Delta project and for irrigation inside Alexandria.

What’s next? They are currently focusing on other more difficult and congested areas in Alexandria, like Smouha and Mohamed Naguib, Abdel Azeem said.

And there’s more planned: The government has been planning to split Alexandria’s rain drainage system from the city’s main sewage network, increasing the capacity for containing rainwater in the event of heavy rainfall on the city.

Your top infrastructure stories for the week:

  • Wind: ACWA Power and Hassan Allam expect to break ground on their planned USD 1.5 bn, 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez early next year.
  • Logistic zone: Emirati state-owned port operator DP World will break ground on its USD 80 mn logistics zone at Ain Sokhna port this month.
  • Dry Port: Industrial Development Group (IDG) will submit financial and technical offers for the new Beni Suef dry port it is developing alongside Alexandria-based logistics company Star Shine Shipping & Logistics (SSSC) during 1Q 2024.
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