Egypt in negotiations with the World Bank is in order to provide finance worth $200 million to implement the Greater Cairo (Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia) Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project.



The World Bank has sent a mission to Egypt, which concluded its work Sunday, ending with a meeting with representatives of ministries of health, housing, planning and transport as well as Qalyubia governor, deputy governor of Giza, and representatives of the World Bank and the project's task forces.



Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad said that the project aims to improve air quality in Greater Cairo and mitigate the impacts of climate change in light of political directives to accelerate addressing this phenomenon.



Fouad added that the project's consultation document was finalised and cadres of the Ministry of Environment were set to establish a project coordination unit.



“The World Bank supported Egypt’s studies on air pollution and its environmental implications on Greater Cairo over the past two years. The data developed by the ministry's environmental monitoring system demonstrated that open waste burning was one of the principal causes of the air pollution problem. The key factor for the project's success was effective coordination and cooperation between relevant ministries and stakeholders to overcome all difficulties,” according to Fouad.



Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat emphasised the importance of investments that support combating climate change and environmental issues in Egypt, given that the project supported the state's "green recovery" plan, besides taking preventive health measures with regard to air pollution or solid waste, given the direct relation between pollution and citizens’ health. Al-Mashat underlined the close cooperation between ministries of environment and international cooperation in this regard.



Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy reiterated that the ministry was keen on the success of projects implemented in collaboration with all international partners, topped by the World Bank.



An integrated complex for waste recycling, treatment and disposal would be established in 10th of Ramadan City over 1,200 acres for solid, medical, demolition, construction and hazardous waste, according to Shaarawy. He also shed light on the project's significance in reducing emissions from vehicles and buses of the Public Transportation Authority (PTA) and in converting them into environmentally friendly units, in line with the Egyptian state's efforts to use new energy and expand the use of electric buses run by natural gas based on the directives of the political leadership.



During the period from 7 to 16 July, the World Bank's mission held several meetings with officials in Egypt in preparation for the project's negotiations, during which the project's objectives and components were discussed.



The project will be implemented in collaboration with several relevant agencies, namely the ministries of environment, local development, transportation and health, as well as the governorates of Qalyubia, Cairo and Giza, and the CTA. It is expected to enhance capabilities to respond to environmental risks and strengthen community engagement in environmental issues.



The ongoing projects' portfolio with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a financial arm of the World Bank, includes 16 projects worth $4.9 billion in the areas of social housing, health, education, social safety networks, oil, local development, sanitation, transportation, SMEs, investment and the environment.





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