The opening of the Bahr Al Baqr wastewater treatment plant by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi topped the coverage on last night’s talk shows. The biggest of its kind in the world, the plant cost EGP 18 bn to build and can process 5.6 mn cubic meters of water daily. The water will be transferred to North Sinai to contribute to the reclamation of 476k feddans, while the 190km-long Bahr Al Baqr drain stretches from South Cairo via Port Said, Ismailia, Sharqiya, Dakahlia and Qalyubia to Lake Manzala. The project was built by Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors, and was funded in part by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, and has directly and indirectly generated around 40k jobs. El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 3:09), Alaa Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 6:32 | 17:16), Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 5:06), Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 1:47) and Pen and Paper (watch, runtime: 2:27) all had the story.

The removal of illegal structures encroaching on state land and infrastructure will be completed within six months: El Sisi said the state will not accept silence over encroachments on land, canals, or bridges, adding that if necessary, the Interior Ministry, governorates, and the Army will help to remove within six months the remaining encroachments that have built up in the last 30 years. El Sisi said that stopping land encroachment is a national security issue, as many Egyptians work in agriculture “and either we achieve self-sufficiency or we import in USD, which represents a burden on the national economy.”

WATER EFFICIENCY PLAY- The president added that lining the nation’s canals to improve efficiency of water use will cost EGP 80 bn in total, a cost that will not be passed onto farmers. Al Tase’a (watch, runtime: 5:08 | 1:45) had coverage.