EGYPT – Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) has signed three financing agreements worth a combined €22 million (US$24.10m) with SEMADCO, Flex P Films, and Huhtamaki Egypt for the construction of solid and liquid waste recycling facilities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
The EEAA will finance these companies under the third phase of the Egyptian Pollution Abatement Program (EPAP).
Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said that the industrial pollution control program is one of the ministry’s projects that bolsters the industrial sector, providing financial and technical support for industrial projects, whether to support environmental compatibility or to implement energy efficiency systems.
As per the agreements, SEMADCO is building a €13.57 million (US$14.86m) wastewater treatment plant in Suez, with €11.8 million (US$12.92m) coming from the Egyptian Pollution Abatement Program (EPAP) at the EEAA.
Meanwhile, Flex P Films is building a recycling facility for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic at a cost of €16.05 million (US$17.58m), with €7 million (US$7.67m) coming from the EPAP.
For its part, Huhtamaki Egypt Huhtamaki Egypt is developing an ethyl acetate solvent recovery unit at €3.59 million (US$3.93m), with €2.84 million (US$3.11m) coming from the EPAP.
The EEAA also signed an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Development Program and French Development Agency (AFD) for a €1.5 million (US$1.64m) project to help Egyptian banks finance climate change projects such as renewable energy.
In addition to financial support, the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment and the General Authority for the SCZone also provides for the organization of introductory seminars at the sectoral level.
The aim is to present how to benefit from EPAP III initiatives and services, and to train the authority’s business development officers on the criteria for participation.
The over US$148 million (US$162.09m) EPAP program also aims to improve the performance of Egyptian industry, and their compliance with environmental laws and regulations, as well as reduce their energy and resource consumption in order to promote sustainable development.
It is financed through loans from the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency (AFD) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency.
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