The government of Egypt has entered into a framework agreement with a Swiss company recognized as a specialist in waste treatment for the construction of incineration plants.
Embodying the government, the Egyptian National Authority for Military Production inked the treaty with the company, known as Thermo-Chemical Gasification and Alternative Energy Applications GmbH (TCG Alena).
Mohamed Said Al-Assar, the Minister of State for Military Production, said that this agreement proves the State’s interest in developing the waste management system to contribute to the improvement of the environment, health and living conditions of citizens and economic recovery.
Terms of the agreement
Basically, the agreement covers cooperation in waste management. In concrete terms, the National Authority for Military Production and TCG Alena will work together to build plants that will convert waste into electrical and thermal energy.
The Swiss company will also equip the workforce needed to operate the incineration plants, together with other waste recycling facilities that are currently being deployed across the country, with the necessary know-how to undertake the task.
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Public-Private Partnerships
The Egyptian authorities have recently embarked on public-private partnerships in the quest for waste management. A while ago, the government through the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca) entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) with the Belgian group Besix and the Egyptian company Orascom Construction for the establishment of a plant that will transform waste into fuel.
Before that, Saudi company Fas Energy obtained approval to invest US $300m in building a plant to convert waste into electricity. The company plans, as the first step, to build a plant that will turn waste into 20MW of electricity at a cost of US $60m. NUCA has already agreed to allocate land to Fas Energy for the development of its facilities.
