Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad met with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Tarek Amer, on Sunday, to discuss ways of supporting Egypt’s waste to energy industry.
The meeting came as part of the first phase projects that have begun in this area, with the phase including projects set up by eight companies in eight governorates with an investment cost of $325-390m.
During the meeting, Fouad said that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is interested in find a successful model for projects to convert waste to energy in Egypt.
The minister also said that providing financing packages for projects that convert waste to energy was one of the most important requests made by companies investing in this field.
She added that the Ministry of Environment has provided an investment incentive to enter the private sector in this field. This will take into account good planning for the new waste system, preparing plans for each of Egypt’s governorates, whilst keeping in mind the investment guarantees outlined by the new waste law.
Fouad emphasised the importance of providing appropriate financing mechanisms for companies working in converting waste to energy, in order to overcome the obstacles presented by high investment costs.
She further emphasised that the new waste system is being implemented along three paths. The first path will see the setting up of the system’s infrastructure for collecting, transporting and recycling.
It will also focus on creating a suitable legislative structure, especially relating to the waste law and its executive regulations, which is a basic guarantee for the sustainable management of the system.
The third path is the follow-up and control role, which is undertaken by the Ministry of Environment, through its Waste Management Regulatory Authority.
