By Manal Abdel Fattah
The European Union Ambassador, Christian Berger, at the head of a delegation from the Union, visited Alexandria Governorate, and met with Major General Mohamed Al-Sharif, the Governor of Alexandria, at the General Office of the Alexandria Governorate, to discuss the most important issues and projects related to water and climate change.
The European Union Ambassador expressed his happiness with his presence in the city of Alexandria, and stressed that his visit to Alexandria entails many discussions in the projects in which the European Union cooperates with Alexandria, which are part of the cooperation with Egypt.
The European Ambassador said that we have many activities and projects on the ground in Alexandria, perhaps the most prominent of which is the restoration of the Alexandria tram, known as the “Raml Tram,” and the implementation of the new electrified Alexandria Metro, instead of the Abu Qir train, to achieve cultural growth in the city, reduce traffic congestion, and contribute to the green transformation of the city.
For his part, the governor has always stressed his happiness with the fruitful and constructive cooperation between Alexandria Governorate and the European Union, especially in the field of infrastructure development projects that serve the areas most in need, and which are consistent with the Egyptian state’s strategy and Egypt’s Vision 2030, towards achieving sustainable development goals.
He explained that Alexandria is one of the cities most threatened by climate change, which the entire world suffers from, but Alexandria is affected significantly and noticeably, and given that it is the oldest Alexandria in the world and has the oldest street in history, it requires the concerted efforts of many to confront these changes that have been clearly demonstrated in recent years by the increase in rainfall in quantities. Larger and for longer periods and greater wind speeds, in addition to the erosion of the governorate’s beaches and the rise in sea levels, which affected the governorate’s infrastructure.
He continued: Therefore, Alexandria received the attention of the state in implementing many major projects to confront these climate changes, perhaps the most important of which is the integrated strategy for rainwater management, and projects to protect beaches from erosion to preserve Alexandria’s beaches to confront the effects resulting from climate change, and to protect citizens, facilities, and antiquities in the city.
The meeting was attended by a group of ambassadors from European countries, Jacqueline Azer, Deputy Governor of Alexandria, Engineer Mamdouh Raslan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Holding Company for Potable Water and Wastewater, Major General Mahmoud Nafi, Chairman of the Alexandria Sanitation Company, and Engineer Ahmed Gaber, Chairman of the Alexandria Drinking Water Company.
