According to the bank provided information, the purpose of the ARWWTP-IV project is to increase the availability of water of sufficient quality in Egypt for productive (e.g. resilient agriculture) and ecosystem needs in a context of climatic change and increased variability.

The proposed project integrates the construction plan for the Greater Cairo treatment plant, whose treatment facilities are divided into four main zones, including the area covered by this project, the West Bank. In fact, wastewater from all project areas on the West Bank flows into the Zenien treatment plant (with an average capacity of 330000m3/day) and the Abu Rawash complex. The treatment plant is located in the village of Abu-Rawash (see appendix 1-5), in the Giza governorate, which is one of the main villages in the Kerdasa district, with a total population of 31741 (including 14090 women), who will benefit from the creation of green jobs and hygiene promotion campaigns. The proposed project will benefit an additional 2 million people (men, women and children) through improved sanitation services in the project's main service area covering Giza and western Greater Cairo, including the area bounded by the Nile to the east, Mohammed Island and Tanash to the north, Sheikh Zayed, Manyal shiha, Abu-elnomros, and the Great Pyramids to the south. The population of Giza governorate is estimated at 8.6 million, with a growth rate of 2.5% and a female proportion of 48% (EIESdu project, 2017). The illiteracy rate in Giza governorate stands at 27.3%, while the enrolment rate at primary level is 94.2%, 80.6% at preparatory level and 95.1% (EIESdu projet, 2017) at secondary level. The governorate is characterized by a high rate of recoverable and effectively cultivated areas, amounting to 198929 feddans, or 2.55% of the total cultivated area nationwide. The 2018 Giza governorate census indicates that the percentage of the workforce in the 15+ age category constitutes around 30% of the total population. The unemployment rate has reached 19.6% due to the stagnation and reduction in the number of tourists and the closure of a number of small factories and stores. According to the project's ESIA, the proportion of the workforce (15+) in the agricultural sector is 11.1%, 32.6% in industry and 56.3% in the service sector.

Alba SERNA GONZALEZ
Water and Sanitation Engineer, AHWS3
African Development Bank
a.serna@afdb.org 
www.afdb.org 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/