Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam affirmed that relying on smart management aligns with the ministry's drive to establish a modern institutional framework based on advanced technology and operational integration, thereby improving governance, resource efficiency, and public and investor services.
The remarks came during a meeting with ministry officials to review smart water management developments, progress on the digital twin project for the Ismailia Canal and its branches, and nationwide expansion plans. Sweilam noted that advancing water management through artificial intelligence, digital transformation, decision-support systems, digital twins, and real-time telemetry ensures smooth and efficient water delivery to end-users.
The meeting reviewed the Ismailia Canal digital twin project, which deploys real-time monitoring of water levels and discharges around barrages and canal intakes around the clock, covering 32 branch canals, 119 drinking water stations, and 20 industrial facilities.
The smart management model tracks daily consumption and drinking water station withdrawals to optimize distribution and enforce smart scheduling, ensuring water reaches tail ends based on actual demand. Advanced flow-measurement cameras were tested and drone imaging is underway to generate a digital map of the canal for regular monitoring within the smart system.
The ministry is developing telemetry-based discharge and water-level monitoring along the canal, preparing to link them with level-discharge relationship formulas. These trials aim to transition from water-level dependence to direct discharge measurements in water governance, evaluating suitable technologies for Egypt's water network.
The minister directed officials to complete the Ismailia Canal digital twin, calibrate flow data for accuracy, and devise a plan to expand digital twins across nationwide priority canals. He instructed teams to prepare stage-discharge equations, integrate databases and digital infrastructure, and expand telemetry monitoring points to accelerate decision-making.
Sweilam stressed the necessity of upskilling human cadres in modern technologies to improve distribution efficiency and achieve the targets of the Water 2.0 system. The Visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Egypt