EU to grant Egypt 10m euro for water, sanitation projects

Ahram Online, Friday 21 Sep 2012

Financial aid for developing infrastructure will address some of the Egyptian uprising's key demands for social justice, official says

All hands to the pump
Europe is opening the tap for more funding (Photo: Reuters)

The European Commission is to grant Egypt 10 million euro ($13 million)  to develop water and sanitation projects, the body said on Thursday.

The funds are the first tranche of a total 303 million euro ($392 million), according to a report from Italian news agency ANSA.
 
The new support will go towards improving the infrastructure needed to supply water, as well as technical assistance, financial planning and project management.
 
"Providing Egyptian citizens with universal access to drinking water supply and environmentally-friendly sanitation service was amongst the crucial demands for social justice made during the Arab Spring last year," EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule was quoted as saying.
 
"As a result, we have transformed it in one of the key priorities of our support to Egypt."
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