Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development held a series of workshops, via video conference, to discuss sustainability standards guidelines in the country’s sustainable development plan.
The guidelines come as part of the government’s interest in expanding the integration of sustainable development, covering economic, social and environmental dimensions, into the planning system, to achieve environmental sustainability.
The high-level meeting took place with the participation of the Ministry of Environment, and included representatives from a number of other ministries.
Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said said that the guidelines include incentives for ministries to shift towards green projects, by providing financing priority to the proposed projects in the guide.
She also said that a total of 691 green projects, worth a total cost of EGP 447.3bn, have been included in the plan for fiscal year (FY) 2020/21 plan. They represent 14% of the total public investments distributed in the plan.
Gamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Sustainable Development Plan Follow-up Affairs, said that six workshops were organised with the relevant ministries to discuss a standards guide for environmental sustainability. The guidelines were prepared by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment.
Helmy said the executive action plan to integrate environmental sustainability standards into development plans relate to a number of main and subsidiary activities. These include: forming working teams within ministries; enhancing the capabilities of workers; and setting up a mechanism to follow up compliance with basic environmental standards before approving project financing.
For his part, Mohamed Farid, Head of the Infrastructure Sector at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, stressed that the investment plan system requires a standard of compatibility with the environmental sustainability standards guide. He also said that projects that meet the environmental sustainability criteria will be given more weight compared to other projects.
