Business Hub – Cairo:
Amr Hazaa, Advisor to the Minister of Trade and Industry for Financing and Development Projects, stressed that within the framework of supporting the green economy, A proposal is being studied for a project to launch a platform for the exchange of industrial waste. Encouraging small and medium industries and entrepreneurship in Egypt. As one of the outputs of the green growth project.
During his speech at the Comprehensive Green Growth Conference in Egypt, held in Luxor today, he said that coordination will be carried out between the Resource Rationalization and Green Economy Department at the Cleaner Production Technology Center, the Center for Food Industries and Agricultural Processing Technology, and the local and international research and financing agencies concerned with industrial waste, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization “UNIDO” and the Bank. International and the German Agency for International Cooperation.
Hazaa added that the project aims to link industrial facilities that produce waste and its beneficiaries and users with recycling to produce innovative and value-added Egyptian products, link the participation of industrial facilities in this platform to the carbon footprint, open the way for informal companies to join the project and encourage them to shift to the formal economy.
Hazaa pointed out that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has, during the last period, supported the green economy by launching additional incentives to invest in green economy projects. He explained that the new and renewable energy sector has been given a great priority, especially as Egypt seeks to be a regional center for the energy mix and to serve electrical connection operations and energy export to Europe and neighboring countries.
He added, Egypt has signed 6 memoranda of understanding with major international public companies in the field of new and renewable energy for the production and export of green hydrogen and green ammonia, as the state provides incentives to encourage investment in this field and allocate lands for the establishment of these projects and link them to ports to facilitate the export process.
Hazaa explained that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is participating in the legislative procedures organizing in the field of environmental preservation, especially in preparing the law regulating waste management and its executive regulations, in addition to participating in preparing the national strategy to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.
The ministry has also participated in development projects such as the green transformation project for sustainable production and consumption in cooperation with UNIDO, which aims to provide support to the private sector to establish and enhance productive opportunities for resources for circular value-added chains, especially in the textile sector.
For his part, Raafat Helal, advisor to the Industrial Development Authority, said, Achieving sustainable development can only be achieved through genuine and complementary partnerships between all segments of the business community, including the government, the private sector, civil society institutions and development partners. He pointed to the Egyptian government’s interest in integrating comprehensive development in the preparation of Vision 2030 in all strategic axes.
Hilal added in his speech on behalf of Major General Muhammad Al-Zalat, Chairman of the Industrial Development Authority, The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is one of the main players in achieving comprehensive development, so it has taken it upon itself to implement a comprehensive five-year plan to promote industrial development and foreign trade. It aligns with the objectives of the economic axis of the sustainable development strategy and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
For her part, Anakira Escandoni, representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization “UNIDO”, reviewed the comprehensive green growth project in Egypt, which is being implemented by the authority in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Escandoni said, The project includes so far 44 small and micro companies, It is planned that two new tours will be presented in cooperation with partners, It also plans to support 135 new companies and obtain financing of up to 50 million pounds.
Eskandoni explained that the project began to be implemented in the governorates of Luxor and Qena in 2020, and it is targeted to be completed in 2023, noting that the project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development at a value of 5 million francs.
She added that the project aims to contribute to the efforts made by the Egyptian government to enhance growth and productivity and create job opportunities while preserving the environment at the same time. Supporting changes in market systems to create an enabling environment for companies, businesses and workforces in the green economy through a more efficient use of resources and the valorization of wasted and untapped resources.
She explained that the project targets specific economic sectors sustainable agriculture, food production, waste management, and sustainable energy, with a special focus on raising the value of biomass flows from agricultural communities, and the agro-industrial sector, such as biogas, solar energy, value chains and major conglomerates in Luxor and Qena, including: That’s sugar cane, tomatoes and palms.
