The Egyptian Housing Ministry and a leading Chinese corporation signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide sanitation for 260 villages in four Egyptian provinces.

Following the MoU signing with China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, Egyptian Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouli said the project, which is worth one billion US dollars, is extremely important for Egypt as it goes in line with the government's priorities and provides direct services for Egyptian citizens.

"This project is so important because it serves a very large number of citizens amounting to millions. There has been negotiation with the Chinese company that the Chinese side will take part in carrying out and financing the project," the Egyptian minister told Xinhua following the MoU signing.

Madbouli clarified that the finance of the project will be provided by the Chinese side through the available finance resources in China according to the agreements between the two countries.

In late December, Egypt and China decided to elevate their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during an official visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Beijing to boost political, economic, military, cultural and technological cooperation between the two sides.

Luo Fei, general manager of Cairo-based branch of China Gezhouba Group Company Limited who signed the MoU with the Egyptian Housing Ministry, said that the project is part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt stressed by the two heads of state.

"This is a project for rural sanitation and its main purpose is to improve the quality and reduce the pollution of drinking water in the rural areas in Egypt," Fei told Xinhua, adding that the Cairo branch of his company opened in early March, a few months after the Egyptian president's China trip.

He explained that after signing the MoU, his company will need about three months for detailed implementation plans about the project and that the project may be completed within two years.