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New Delta: World’s Largest Wastewater Treatment Plant
The New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant in Egypt represents a significant advancement in agricultural wastewater management across Africa. Located along the Al Dabaa Axis in the Western Desert, this cutting-edge facility sets new global benchmarks in water treatment, supporting Egypt’s water-saving strategy to address water scarcity through 2037. K&A provided design review and supervision consultancy, ensuring the project met the highest standards in sustainability, efficiency, and environmental performance.
Pioneering Large-Scale Water Infrastructure in Egypt
As the largest water treatment facility in the world, the New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant boasts an extraordinary capacity of 86.8 cubic meters per second. It processes wastewater from the Old Delta agricultural drainage, channeling it to the world’s longest artificial river — a 174-kilometer canal in Egypt’s Western Desert. The plant features Egypt’s largest disc filter with 132 filter discs and the largest inlet pumps for raw water. It is supported by seven underground networks for electricity, water, sewage, rainwater, fire safety, irrigation, and pipe operations.
Digital technologies: Cutting Wastage, Boosting Efficiency
K&A implemented advanced digital technologies at the New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant to enhance performance, minimize waste, and ensure water-quality control, in line with industry standards and client specifications.
The plant operates through a state-of-the-art SCADA system, enabling remote and automated control of all equipment, including pumps, valves, and sensors. It continuously monitors, collects, and processes operational data, records events, and stores information in dedicated files—all from a centralized control room. This allows operators to manage the entire plant efficiently, optimizing performance, reducing wastage, and maintaining high operational reliability.
Sustainable Wastewater Management at New Delta Plant
The New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant is designed, constructed, and operated with sustainability at its core, encompassing materials selection, waste disposal, recycling, and overall performance. During design development, the team implemented a comprehensive solid waste management plan aligned with the construction waste management strategy. This approach integrates efficient measures for managing occupant-generated waste, prioritizes materials with high recycled content, and emphasizes recyclability. Materials and construction methods were carefully chosen to maximize value and resource efficiency throughout the project lifecycle.
Environmental Preservation and Agricultural Water Reuse
Designed to treat agricultural wastewater, the plant significantly improves water efficiency, enabling the irrigation of an additional 210,000 hectares. It will also safeguard marine and coastal ecosystems, create jobs, and enhance resilience to climate change by managing wastewater and floodwaters. By addressing the annual 20 billion m³ water gap, the New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant will play a crucial role in helping Egypt achieve water security in line with its 2030 National Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustainable Use of Natural Agricultural Resources
- Providing safe water and high-quality agricultural products.
- Protecting marine ecosystems, including El-Max Lake, from environmental pollution.
Increasing Agricultural Productivity in the New Delta
- Cultivating 2 million feddans in the New Delta region (equivalent to 75% of the Old Delta area).
- 90% of the land will be planted with strategic crops, including wheat, maize, vegetables, and fruits.
Strengthening Competitiveness of Agricultural Products
- Leveraging the project’s strategic location to facilitate the distribution of agricultural products across Egypt and for export.
Improving the Agricultural Investment Climate
- Encouraging similar projects that promote the training and development of skilled personnel in agro-industrial activities.
- Supporting regional sectors such as livestock and poultry, dairy and packaging, and fish processing and freezing.
Enhancing the Standard of Living in Rural Areas
- Developing new sustainable communities in previously unused or deserted areas.
- Creating over 2 million jobs by 2025.
Achievements of the New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant
Delivering the New Delta Wastewater Treatment Plant, the world’s largest water treatment facility, required coordinated innovation, rigorous risk management, and precise execution. By combining scalable, sustainable design with direct social, economic, and environmental benefits, the project sets a new benchmark for international water treatment infrastructure. Its transformative impact spans ecological protection, agricultural productivity, and community development, demonstrating how world-class facilities can address urgent water and climate challenges.
The plant’s excellence has been recognized through multiple prestigious awards:
- ENR Global Best Projects Awards 2023 – Best Project in Water/Wastewater
- MEED Projects Awards 2023 – National Winner, Water Treatment Project of the Year
- Big 5 Global Impact Awards 2023 – Partnership of the Year (Joint Venture of Khatib & Alami, Metito Limited, Orascom Construction, The Arab Contractors Company, and Hassan Allam Construction)
- Guinness World Records 2023 – Largest water treatment plant (capacity 86.8 m³/s), largest water treatment facility (area 320,600 m²), largest sludge treatment plant (capacity 670.01 kg/s), and largest epoxy coating in a building (area 520,339 m²)
