“Smart Cards” Help Egypt Save on Water Metering

WASHINGTON, DC - June 1, 2001 - Chemonics is deploying “smart card”-controlled water meters in 50 homes and businesses throughout Luxor in the first application of this technology to water utility management in Egypt.

The technology is being applied to reduce administrative costs in the growing municipality in upper Egypt. The six-month pilot is part of Chemonics’ Institutional Development Services for the Secondary Cities project, which works in six cities across Egypt. D

eveloped and patented in Britain, the smart card automates water metering and provides utilities with new billing options, including prepayment. It can also shut off water for short periods or limit supplies in case of shortages.

“This technology has enormous potential impact,” said Dewey Bryant, who leads the project in Egypt. “If successful, it will contribute directly to the bottom line of the water utility and improve its ability to invest in maintenance and expansion.”

Supplied by a local Egyptian company, a single unit costs the utility about $100 — four times more than a mechanical meter. In addition to ensuring timely payment, the system eliminates the need for meter readers to visit homes or businesses each month. In Luxor, as in many cities in developing countries, meters are often installed in hard-to-reach locations like basements, alleys, or behind locked doors or gates.

The pilot includes major hotels and prominent businesses, including the historical Winter Garden and a local McDonald’s restaurant, as well as small homes and businesses. If the pilot is successful, Chemonics will help the Luxor utility implement the program for all 150,000 customers, with other cities in Egypt likely to follow suit.

Smart cards are used in Egypt for pay telephones, and banks are moving quickly to use them for financial services, but this marks the first use of smart cards by government for municipal service management.

For more information, contact: Heather Peck, 202-955-7433, hpeck@chemonics.com.

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