The Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC) has announced the completion of reparation work on the line that nourishess the city of New Cairo, on Monday morning, and gradually pumping water back.
The water is being pumped through the main line and the water is gradually returned to the affected areas of the city, said company spokesperson Mohey al-Serafy; pointing out that the company will continue distributing water in vehicles in New Cairo until the water is fully restored to its normal flow.
Mostafa Ahmed al-Shemy, Chairman of the Cairo Water Company, stressed that all employees and engineers exerted great efforts to complete the reparation of the line and return water to the residents of the city as soon as possible.
The Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC) said on Sunday the water supply will remain off for longer than expected in districts of the Fifth Settlement in New Cairo city, citing obstacles in fixing and repairing the water pipe that burst on Saturday.
The company provided water to the affected areas using mobile tanks of drinking water, which are on call at the hotline 125 from landlines.
Serafy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that a new line is being operated to supply New Cairo until repairs are completed. He pointed out that some water lines are operational for the first time since the pipe burst on Saturday and some temporary transfers have been made.
Residents in the area expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of water for over 48 hours; many said they tried to contact the hotline several times, but to no avail.
Sources with the company said that failure to operate the new Cairo water station as required contributed significantly to prolonging the period of water cut. The sources called for an independent investigation into the incident, and expected service disruptions to recur especially with the increase in occupancy rates in new cities, especially New Cairo.
Investigations carried out by the Administrative Control Authority revealed that private companies owners in collaboration with public employees and advisers imported water pipes not conforming to specifications in 2007, causing financial losses to the state of up to LE3 billion.
The officials and private company owners involved were referred to the prosecutor over the case on April 5, according to the sources.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
