Engineer Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, Minister of Military Production and General Mahmoud Shaarawy, Ministry of Local Development, Dr Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, and General Ahmed Rashid, Governor of Giza, witnessed the signing ceremony of a four-way cooperation protocol between the “Consortium of the Ministry of Military Production and Renergy Group Partners” and the “Ministry of Development” Local Environment” and “Ministry of Environment” and “Giza” for land allocation in Giza Governorate.
The protocol was signed by Eng Mohamed Salah, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Military Production and Managing Director, Eng Mohamed El-Sayed Abu Jaour, Local Development for Planning, Dr Tarek El-Araby, Head of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority at the Ministry of Environment, and Mr Shafiq Jalal Hassan, Head of the Public General Authority For Cleanness & Beautification from Giza Governorate.
Minister Morsi indicated that the signing of this protocol comes in implementation of the directives of the President of the Republic and the continuous follow-up of the Prime Minister with the relevant ministries to achieve maximum benefit from the new solid waste system, stressing that this protocol contributes significantly to finding sustainable and immediate solutions in the treatment of municipal solid waste. By converting it into energy, which comes within the framework of the Ministry of Military Production’s endeavour to employ all the industrial, technological and human capabilities available to it to participate in the implementation of major national projects that contribute to the development of the citizen’s livelihood within the framework of the (Decent Life) initiative, and on top of these projects is the waste disposal system Which aims to make the maximum use of the amount of waste generated daily, adding that the alliance of the “Ministry of Military Production and Renergy Group Partners” will, under this protocol, provide the innovative technology to implement a treatment plant for the transformation of municipal solid waste into electric power in Giza Governorate on the land designated for this purpose in accordance with the requirements environmental regulations in force in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
For his part, General Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development, indicated that there is full coordination and cooperation between all ministries and relevant authorities regarding the preparation and implementation of the municipal solid waste system in the governorates to the extent that will lead to raising the level of the system in a way that citizens feel and in a way that contributes to a qualitative leap in This is an important file, and “Sharawy” emphasized on that the state is making great efforts in the framework of creating and introducing modern technology into the new system and expanding it. One of these technologies is converting waste into energy, eliminating large quantities of waste, especially in governorates where it is difficult to provide land for construction—processing and recycling plants.
Shaarawy stressed that the state is making efforts during the current stage to implement the integrated plan to develop the solid waste management system, in light of the directives of the political leadership and the Prime Minister’s assignments, because of the paramount importance that the state attaches to improving the environmental, health and living conditions of citizens, reducing pollution rates, as well as establishing A national industry to manage waste, develop the national economy, and provide new job opportunities.
General Mahmoud Shaarawy added that the implementation of the integrated waste management system is an inherent right of the ministry in coordination with the governorates and the Ministry of Environment. Accordingly, the Ministry of Local Development will coordinate with the Giza Governorate to provide the required plot of land within the geographical scope of the governorate and provide full support and coordination to the governorate with all government agencies to issue the necessary licenses. After the privatization, the ministry will also follow up on all the operational stages of the project until the commercial operation of the station and linking it to the electricity network.
For her part, Dr Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, confirmed that converting waste into energy is one of the mechanisms for treating and recycling waste within the infrastructure program in the new waste system, which depends on establishing waste recycling factories and converting it into organic fertilizer and alternative fuel, as Egypt has the experience in establishing and managing these factories. The Minister of Environment indicated that efforts are currently being sought to bring in expertise and technologies for waste-to-energy factories in cooperation with development partners and support Egyptian companies working in this field within the framework of the political leadership’s directives. Private incinerators without the need to separate them before incineration achieves several advantages, including the possibility of disposing of a large amount of waste at once.
Dr Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, explained that the tariff for electricity generated (from solid municipal waste, biogas extracted from safe sanitary landfills, sludge from sewage treatment plants) was issued through Cabinet Resolution No. 41 of 2019 to support partnership with the private sector. Regarding the treatment of waste and its transformation into energy, in addition, to set selection criteria for (8) Egyptian companies, in accordance with presidential mandates to focus on Egyptian companies to implement the first phase of projects for converting waste into energy, as it was agreed to start implementation in (8) governorates as a first stage out of (16) governorates, and we started in Giza governorate (Abu Rawash) as the first governorate in which the system is implemented.
General Ahmed Rashid, Governor of Giza, confirmed that the governorate would allocate the required plot of land in the Abu Rawash area as a usufruct for a compatible period of time to establish a treatment plant to convert waste into electrical energy. The governorate will coordinate with the Ministry of Local Development and the Ministry of Environment regarding the issuance of technical and legal controls regarding the allocation of land with Taking into account the required area and the distance between the site of the land and the nearest connection point with the medium voltage network, the extension paths of the electrical interconnection network, and the technical, environmental controls around the site of the treatment plant. Rashid added that the governorate would supply the quantities of solid waste according to the operating requirements, which will be in the range of 1200 tons/day. This will contribute to the safe disposal of solid waste and its recycling to maintain the environmental balance and reduce air pollution and continue efforts to activate the solid waste management system because of its great impact on citizens’ daily lives.
In turn, the media advisor to the Minister of Military Production and the official spokesman for the ministry, Mohammad Eid Bakr, stated that the Ministry of Military Production is constantly seeking to integrate with ministries, governorates, and various agencies in a way that supports comprehensive development strategies in the country, adding that the ministry is keen to transfer modern technologies in various fields of manufacturing within companies, and its affiliated units and cooperation with national and international companies specialized in the field of waste management in the implementation of these types of projects to deepen local manufacturing, increase value-added, reduce imports and provide foreign currency in a way that enhances the national economy, which is evident in the cooperation of the Ministry of Military Production with the two companies Green Tech Egypt and OAK Holding in this field, stressing the ministry’s keenness that cooperation with its partners in various fields – including the field of waste recycling and its conversion into energy – is based on joint manufacturing and technology transfer.
