VOA慢速英语--为应对缺水，埃及计划在未来五年内新建17座海水淡化厂

Egypt is worried about its supply of fresh water. To help deal with the problem, it is offering financial assistance to private companies to build 17 new desalination¹ factories over the next 5 years.

The process of desalination removes salt from water.

The new factories will increase water desalination in the country by 300 percent. They will operate with solar energy.

The plan fits with Egypt's push to increase its sources of fresh water for a fast-growing population. Currently, it is facing competition for Nile River water from a large hydropower dam that Ethiopia is building upstream.

The financial assistance is designed to bring in private investment and technological² development. Egypt has struggled in both of these areas.

Investment in new desalination factories would begin with the government guaranteeing to buy the water and re-sell it to its citizens and industries at a much lower price, said Ayman Soliman. He is the head of the Egyptian government's investment fund. He did not estimate how much it would cost the government.

Currently, Egypt desalinates about 800,000 cubic meters of water a day. The new factories would produce about 2.8 million cubic meters of water a day. That amount would later increase by 100 percent. The government is looking for 6.4 million cubic meters by 2050, reports the government's investment fund.

"We've already solicited⁴ offers. What's happening is a combination between a competitive process and a limited negotiation⁵ process," Soliman told the Reuters news agency.

Egypt's military has been used to increase infrastructure⁶ development under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The military has already built 27 desalination factories. In addition, private desalination companies have built factories near resorts along Egypt's sea coasts.

Solar energy

During a proposed 25-year period of financial assistance, companies would bring in their own building teams and use renewable energy like solar power. Soliman said many companies have expressed interest in the plan.

"We've received offers to build whatever capacity we need," Soliman said. He added that there is enough demand by investors⁷ to build many more factories than planned.

The government's investment fund hopes to reduce the price of desalination by 20 to 25 percent by using renewable energy and creative financing.

Cutting costs

Local solar energy producer KarmSolar was one of the first to publicly say it plans to bid for part of the project. It claims it can lower costs by selling electricity and water using renewable energy. It has begun building a 200-cubic-meter-per-day desalination factory at Marsa Shagra on the southern Red Sea coast. For the past five years, the company has used solar and fuel to supply electricity to resorts in the area.

"The machines for digging the wells are there, and we've put the orders for the procurement⁸," said Ibrahim Metawe. He is the manager of the new plant, which plans to begin pumping water in the early months of 2022.

The water intake⁹ wells are set a short distance away from the sea to reduce the effects on the environment.

In sunny Egypt, excess water may be produced at the hottest part of the day. Karmsolar is considering several ways to make use of that water, including selling it in bottles.

Words in This Story

desalination - n. the process of removing salt from something, such as water

hydropower – n. electricity produced from machines that are run by moving water

upstream - adj. in the direction opposite to the flow in a stream

fund - n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose

solicit³ – v. to ask for something from someone

infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

resort – n. a place where people go for vacations

capacity – n. the ability to hold or contain people or things — usually singular

bid – v. an offer to pay a particular amount of money for something

procurement – n. getting something from someone

1 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。

2 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

3 solicit   

vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意)

参考例句：

• Beggars are not allowed to solicit in public places.乞丐不得在公共场所乞讨。
• We should often solicit opinions from the masses.我们应该经常征求群众意见。

4 solicited   

v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• He's already solicited their support on health care reform. 他已就医疗改革问题请求他们的支持。 来自辞典例句
• We solicited ideas from Princeton University graduates and under graduates. 我们从普林斯顿大学的毕业生与大学生中征求意见。 来自辞典例句

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

9 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。