Many beach resorts are now in operation and there are still hundreds to be constructed. However, previous tourism development in Egypt has resulted in a series of negative environmental impacts. The ambitious development plans to receive 16 million tourists by 2017 should take into consideration sustainability concepts.

There are two main lines (Fig. 6 and Table 1): The first is Qena-Safaga pipeline with total length of 180 km. There are three parallel lines with different diameters. They have been erected on different periods from 1967 to 2000; the diameters are 200 mm, 300 mm and 400 mm. They are supported by 13 pumping stations distributed on the distance from Qena to Safaga. The total capacity of the lines is 17,000 m3/d distributed on three cities: Hurghada, Safaga and El-Quseir as 7000 m3/d, 5000 m3/d and 5000 m3/d, respectively, Table 1. The second line is the Koraimat pipeline, which has been erected recently on 1997 with diameter 1000 mm until Ras Ghareb and 600 mm to Hurghada. The total capacity of the pipeline is 28,000 m3/d distributed on three cities: Zaafarana, Ras Ghareb and Hurghada as 5500 m3/d, 5000 m3/d and 17,500 m3/d, respectively. There are seven pumping stations on the pipeline. The total cost of this pipeline is 660 millions L.E. which was equivalent to $US 194 millions. The installation cost per m3 depreciated on 15 years is 2.15 L.E./m3 or $US 0.64. The running cost including maintenance cost is 1.5 L.E. The total cost including installation cost is 3.5 L.E. which equivalent approximately to one US$.

Nile Water Transported by Pipeline to Red Sea Governorate and its costs

Desalinated Water Most of the Red Sea region uses desalination to respond to water demand requirements. There are two categories of desalination units: first is government-owned units (Ministry of Development); second is the privatesector- owned units. Table 2 presents the government-owned desalination units and the technology used. Table 3 presents the private-sector-desalination units. The total amount of desalinated water is 34,750 m3/d or 12.68 Mm3/y. The units using Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology produce 25,250 m3/d and the vapor compression (VC) produce 4500 m3/d.

An environmental risk assessment model was developed to evaluate the environmental risk associated with the construction of tourism projects along the Red Sea coast of Egypt. The model estimates the risk of causing environmental harm to existing ecological receptors, while considering the cumulative effect of different stressors and impacts. It combines risk assessment and environmental impact assessment (EIA) into a unified analysis process. It assists planners, cooperating with the EIA team, in the analysis of different planning alternatives, construction methods, and mitigation measures. It also assists decision makers in evaluating the submitted EIAs before issuing construction permits.

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The Red Sea of Egypt has undergone rapid tourism development over the past 20 years. This development occurred with many gaps in legislation and implementation issues that have not been fully attended to. Among these is environmental policy. Legislators have been slow to respond to environmental concerns and the legislation that exists has been poorly implemented. Accordingly, the status of environmental regulation in Egyptian tourism development will be evaluated through exploring the following research questions: 1. What is the Egyptian government's environmental policy? 2. What are the greatest constraints facing successful implementation of environmental policies? 3. How has privatization of the tourism industry influenced the implementation of environmental policies? 4. What is the role of the private sector in environmental sustainability in tourism? In exploring these issues, this study is intended to assess the effectiveness of environmental policy in Red Sea tourism in Egypt and, thus, to contribute to the sustainable development of the region at large. The focus of this study is on the barriers to the implementation of environmental policy along the Egyptian Red Sea coast.