Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi commissioned the Bahr El Baqar wastewater treatment plant in a report published on 31 October 2026, with the facility described as the largest wastewater treatment plant of its kind worldwide and designed with a treatment capacity of 5 million cubic metres per day. Construction Review
Key takeaways
- The Bahr El Baqar plant has a reported treatment capacity of 5 million cubic metres per day. Construction Review
- The facility comprises four treatment lines, each with a daily processing capacity of 1,250,000 cubic metres. Construction Review
- Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors executed the project under a US $739 million agreement signed with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority in 2019. Construction Review
- Egypt estimates that treated wastewater from the plant could irrigate at least 168,000 hectares in the Sinai Peninsula. Construction Review
- Earlier coverage identified the plant as the world’s largest water treatment facility, the largest sludge treatment plant and the largest single-operator ozone-generating plant. Waste Management World
What happened
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi commissioned the Bahr El Baqar plant, which was built by a joint venture of Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors under a US $739 million agreement signed with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority in 2019. Construction Review
The project included pumping stations and a water carrier, with the plant designed to collect domestic, industrial and agricultural wastewater flowing along the 106 km Bahr al-Baqar Drain between Dakahlia, Sharqia, Ismailia and Port Said governorates. Construction Review
Following treatment through four lines, the effluent is intended for agricultural irrigation in Sinai. Egypt estimates that the reclaimed water could irrigate at least 168,000 hectares, supporting the Sinai development programme. Construction Review
Coverage published on 28 September 2021 placed the plant in the northern governorate of Port Said and described its daily production capacity as 5.6 million cubic metres, while also reporting that its operating systems cover raw-water pumping, flocculation, decantation, filtration and disinfection. Waste Management World The more recent report gives the treatment capacity as 5 million cubic metres per day and lists coagulation, flocculation, decantation, filtration and disinfection among the plant’s processes. Construction Review
Specification Read
For buyers, the reported plant scale is 5 million cubic metres per day, or 5,000 MLD. Construction Review The four reported lines each process 1,250,000 cubic metres daily, which totals 5 million cubic metres across the facility. Construction Review Population-equivalent capacity, design flow variability, influent BOD and COD, and final reuse-water quality were not reported, so an equivalent population or compliance class cannot be assigned from the available information.
The reported treatment train covers raw-water pumping, coagulation, flocculation, decantation, filtration and disinfection, with treated effluent sent for agricultural irrigation. Construction Review Earlier coverage also identifies operating systems for raw-water pumping, flocculation, decantation, filtration and disinfection, and describes the output as triple-treated water transferred to North Sinai. Waste Management World This project therefore bears directly on the downstream filtration and disinfection package, as well as the pumping systems needed to transfer reclaimed water into the agricultural reuse network. Operators can compare that equipment scope with our Disinfection Equipment and Municipal product resources.
If your plant enquiry is for a 5,000 MLD wastewater-reuse project with industrial, agricultural and domestic influents, this is what it means for you: evaluate the project as a large-scale municipal-reclamation installation with pumping, clarification, filtration and disinfection requirements, but request design flow, BOD/COD, reuse limits and population-equivalent data before selecting equipment. Construction Review The source’s description of a project serving Sinai agricultural reuse also makes irrigation demand and transfer infrastructure part of the plant scope rather than a separate utility concern.
FAQ
What is the reported capacity of the Bahr El Baqar wastewater treatment plant?
The capacity reported on 31 October 2026 is 5 million cubic metres per day, equivalent to 5,000 MLD, across four treatment lines of 1,250,000 cubic metres each. Construction Review The available reports do not provide design flow variability, population equivalent or final irrigation-water quality specifications.
How much did the Bahr El Baqar project cost?
The project was executed under a US $739 million agreement signed with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority in 2019, according to the report published on 31 October 2026. Construction Review The supplied coverage does not break that value into equipment, civil works, pumping stations or the water carrier, so those components cannot be costed from the available information.
Which treatment stages are included in the reported plant scope?
The reported processes include raw-water pumping, coagulation, flocculation, decantation, filtration and disinfection. Construction Review Earlier coverage also describes triple-treated water being transferred to North Sinai for agricultural land reclamation. Waste Management World
What supplier information is needed to compare a plant of this scale?
Procurers should request the design flow, peak-to-average ratio, influent BOD/COD, required effluent quality, reuse criteria, hydraulic profile and delivery schedule before comparing bids. Construction Review The sources report the overall capacity, processes and project value but do not provide the lead time, equipment-selection criteria or supplier award details needed for a like-for-like commercial comparison.
