Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam discussed on Wednesday with Director of the Africa Department at the Agence française de développement (AFD) Sandra Kassab boosting bilateral cooperation in outlining a study on developing the operation process of the Delta Barrage.
The study aims at improving the overall operating efficiency of the Delta Barrage, modernizing the water distribution system, reducing operations and maintenance costs, offering alternatives to hydraulic presses for operating the barrages, alternatives to mechanical control, reducing reliance on the manual processes, and studying the sediments accumulated in front of the barrages.
The two sides also discussed cooperation in developing a plan to monitor the water quality of the Ismailia Canal, Nile Delta, Egypt, in addition to preparations for launching the National Drainage Program IV (NDP4).
They also reviewed cooperation in devising the master plan for the maintenance and replacement of lift stations in a way that contributes to improving the stations’ conditions and increasing the efficiency of energy use.
They also discussed cooperation between Egypt and France in qualifying cadres for the second-generation irrigation system (2.0) and designing and implementing training programs that cover the real time monitoring of the water quality and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
The minister underlined the Irrigation Ministry’s distinguished training capabilities represented in the Regional Training Center for Water Resources and Irrigation.
He further underlined the role of the Pan African Center for Water and Climate Change Adaptation (PACWA) in providing training programs.
The minister also invited the French side to participate in the 8th edition of Cairo Water Week, to be held in October, with the view to discussing more areas of cooperation between the two countries during its activities.
