The Ministers of Environment and Local Development chair the Steering Committee of the National Solid Waste Management Program
Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, and Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development, chaired the tenth meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Solid Waste Management Program; To follow up and evaluate the activities of the national program and its future plans, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Environment in the New Administrative Capital.
The meeting was attended – via video conference – by Major General Dr. Alaa Abdel Moati, Governor of Kafr El Sheikh, Major General Dr. Hisham Abu Al-Nasr, Governor of Assiut, Dr. Khaled Abdel Halim, Governor of Qena, and Major General Ashraf El-Gindy, Governor of Gharbia, with the participation of Dr. Ali Abu Sunna, CEO of the Environmental Affairs Agency, Mr. Baser Abdullah, CEO of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, and Dr. Hazem Al-Dhanan, Director of the National Program. For solid waste management, Professor Soha Taher, Head of the Central Administration for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Environment, Dr. Khaled Qassem, Assistant Minister of Local Development, Professor Ahmed Atef, Head of the Waste Unit at the Ministry of Local Development, Dr. Mona Shehab, World Bank Project Coordinator at the Waste Unit at the Ministry of Local Development, and representatives of development partners from the European Union (EU) and the Bank German Construction KFW, Swiss International Cooperation SECO, the German International Cooperation Organization GIZ, and a number of representatives of the relevant ministries, including international cooperation and the program’s advisory bodies in the four governorates.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Yasmine Fouad welcomed Minister of Environment, Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development, governors, development partners, and those in charge of the National Waste Program, thanking everyone for the cooperation and efforts made to advance the system and implementation on the ground in the areas of collection, transportation, recycling, and street cleaning; So that the citizen feels the services provided, stressing that everyone is a partner in success and that the Egyptian state with all its agencies is fully committed to solving the problem of municipal waste at the republic level.
The Minister of Environment indicated that it will be Make more efforts during the coming period, whether for technical support or available investments in this regard, stressing the need for cooperation with civil society and the private sector to invest in the field of solid waste to advance the system, achieve sustainability, maximize investments, and improve the service provided to citizens.
 
The Minister of Environment pointed out the major role played by the National Solid Waste Program, which began in 2015, and its idea was based on supporting the solid waste system in the governorates, in addition to legislative support for issuing a law regulating waste management, and developing a structure plan. waste units in the various governorates, as well as implementing studies for a plan for each governorate, in addition to developing the institutional framework for the governorates, establishing waste management units, building capabilities, preparing performance indicators, setting the general framework for planning and strategies related to waste management, ensuring that planning is linked to financing, and ensuring the sustainability of financial resources, in addition to integrating All formal and informal workers in the system, including garbage collectors, contractors, and others, to improve their situations, prepare technical and economic studies for the waste management system and feasibility studies for waste sector projects in Egypt, and what the program provides in terms of raising the efficiency, training, and awareness campaigns for workers in the system and for various segments of society from the private sector, youth, civil society organizations, and women. And others.
Fuad expressed her gratitude for the role of development partners and the Swiss aid program that recently entered the system, explaining that the national program is divided into two components. The first component is the financial component, which is represented in the form of a loan to implement Infrastructure in four governorates and another component for technical support.
She confirmed that the meeting discussed the achievements and outputs of the national program in the four governorates over the past years, as it is a follow-up to the mechanisms for actually starting implementation. The solid waste management system, especially with regard to the procedures for operating the infrastructure of recycling and treatment plants, intermediate stations and sanitary landfills, which the National Program implemented in four governorates, as an experimental model for how to prepare a complete plan for each governorate in terms of developing the plan and the necessary support and how to implement the infrastructure and operating processes. In order to achieve an integrated and sustainable waste system that reflects the civilized appearance of the state and is felt by the citizen on the ground.
For her part, Dr. Manal Awad thanked the Minister of Environment and the working group for the great efforts And to the governors, development partners, and those in charge of the national waste program, explaining that this meeting is the first meeting of the management committee in which it participates to follow up on the mechanisms for implementing the system’s work in the four governorates.
The Minister of Local Development stressed the importance of Partnership and full coordination between the Ministry of Local Development and the Ministry of Environment in developing the system’s plan and implementing it on the ground, calling on the governors of the four governorates to activate the system and ensure its proper functioning and in accordance with the plan that was drawn up by the Ministry of Environment, represented by the National Waste Program.
Dr. Manal Awad directed the governors to identify all the needs of each governorate to conclude collection and transportation contracts, provide the necessary labor to operate the equipment and infrastructure facilities, and work to quickly close random dumps in the governorates.
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In the same context, the governors thanked the Ministers of Environment and Local Development and the development partners for the great effort exerted in the waste system and the support provided by the national program.
< p>Major General Ashraf El Gendy, Governor of Gharbia, expressed his happiness with the status of the system in Gharbia Governorate and the support provided by the National Program, which is clearly evident in the general appearance of the Governorate. Major General Alaa Abdel Moati, Governor of Kafr El Sheikh, explained the great role played by the National Program in the Governorate, as it developed Bella and Sidi Salem factories, in addition to starting to implement a factory in Motobas and a sanitary landfill in Baltim, which will have a significant impact on serving the factories, calling for an increase in the number of waste recycling factories in Kafr El-Sheikh, and working to supply some of the equipment that the governorate needs.
Major General Dr. Hisham Abu Al-Nasr, Governor of Assiut, also explained that 2 intermediate stations have been established in Dayrut and Abu Tig and have already been operated and benefited from in the system, and 2 other intermediate stations are being implemented, a waste recycling plant and a sanitary landfill, calling for the provision of More equipment to meet the governorate’s growing needs whenever possible.
Dr. Khaled Abdel Halim, Governor of Qena, stressed the importance of the support provided by the national program and development partners, which contributed to the development of the system in the governorate, especially The expansions that took place at the Naga Hammadi factory in the second phase, and a waste recycling plant is being established in the Qus Center, calling for the inclusion of a sanitary landfill and a recycling plant in the third phase to cover all parts of the governorate, stressing the importance of the private sector entering the system in collection and transportation operations.
For their part, the development partners thanked the Ministers of Environment and Local Development and the governors, expressing their happiness in cooperating with the national program and providing support to the solid waste system in Egypt and working to achieve sustainability.
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Bernhard Soland at the Swiss Aid Authority confirmed that work is being done to implement the infrastructure and develop the waste system in the governorates concerned, which contributes to improving air quality and improving the lives of citizens, pointing to the interest of the Swiss side in focusing the waste system on agricultural, health and electronic waste, and noting He pointed out that the efforts made in the solid waste system contribute to reducing pollution and limiting climate change.
Lorenzo Vinegot, Head of the Green and Sustainable Transformation in the European Union, also expressed his gratitude for participating in the solid waste system. And work to develop the infrastructure in the Egyptian governorates, and provide support, which contributes to improving the lives of citizens, looking forward to more cooperation and achievements in the waste system.
The Ministers of Environment and Local Development listened to the presentation. Presented by Dr. Hazem Al-Dhanan, Director of the National Solid Waste Program, during which he reviewed the most important inputs of the program in the four governorates to improve the infrastructure of the waste system, including completing the first and second phases of the national program with investments amounting to about 900 million pounds, with support from development partners, represented by the supply of 290 pieces of equipment to the four governorates in total. 300 million pounds to improve the collection and transportation system and rehabilitate and raise the efficiency of (5) waste treatment factories, including (Al-Mahalla Al-Kubra) Defra – Bella – Sidi Salem – Naga Hammadi) in (3) Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbia, and Qena governorates, with their support with (4) sieves, (8) air separators, (1) fine fertilizer line, and a bag-opening machine for the waste treatment plant in Naga Hammadi, in addition to removing the accumulations of (7) landfill sites. Slums in Kafr El-Sheikh and Gharbia governorates, in addition to implementing (7) intermediate stations aimed at reducing the cost of transporting municipal solid waste from nearby centers and villages to treatment and recycling sites in Gharbia, Qena and Assiut governorates, in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Industrialization, with a total investment of 100 million pounds. Al-Dhanan also explained that the program aims to improve the infrastructure, provide institutional support for environmental protection, financial sustainability, and raise environmental awareness, pointing to the program’s efforts in waste collection operations from the four governorates, where approximately 1 million tons were collected annually from Kafr Governorate. Al-Sheikh, 1.1 million tons from Gharbia, 750 thousand tons from Assiut and half a million tons from Qena, referring to the efforts that took place in the waste system in Gharbia Governorate, where the efficiency of the Mahalla and Diffra factories and two intermediate stations in Diffra and Samannoud were raised. As for Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, accumulations were removed. From Bella and Sidi Salem centers and supporting cleaning workers in the governorate. During the meeting, the most important future projects that were completed were reviewed, including offering 6 tenders for infrastructure projects in the program’s governorates, represented by offering projects to establish a biological treatment plant and a sanitary landfill in Qus, Qena Governorate, a project to establish a treatment factory and a sanitary landfill in the Assiut Center, and an expansion project for the Sadat Landfill in the Gharbia Governorate in the Governorate. Menoufia, in addition to presenting the project to establish a biological treatment plant in the Motobas Center, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. The meeting ended with several recommendations, the most important of which are supporting the solid waste system in the governorates, supporting the budget necessary to conclude collection and transportation contracts, providing the necessary labor to operate equipment and infrastructure facilities, and managing the necessary budgets to close random dumps in the governorates, in addition to supporting solid waste departments with competencies and developing the structure in accordance with the waste law. Its executive regulations are in addition to completing the connection of facilities to infrastructure facilities, operating the national program facilities through the private sector, and supporting the agricultural waste system in the coming stages with the necessary expertise, equipment, and infrastructure. It is worth noting that the National Solid Waste Management Program is one of the most important and largest solid waste management projects in Egypt. It combines two technical and financial components and aims to develop an effective and sustainable system for solid waste management to preserve the environment and public health. It is funded by several parties, namely the European Union, the German Development Bank, and the German Construction Authority. German international cooperation and Swiss international cooperation. The program operates in 4 governorates (Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbia, Qena, and Assiut), and during the years 2023 and 2024, many infrastructure projects were completed within the framework of the directives of the political leadership to improve the waste system and as a contribution to the presidential initiative “A Decent Life.” And in implementation of the national program action plan.
