Today, the Gharbia Governorate and Zero Carbon Sustainable Development Company signed a contract for the management and operation of the solid waste recycling and treatment plant in Dafra, as well as for the provision of treatment and recycling services and the transfer of rejected waste to the sanitary landfill in Sadat. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Manal Awad, the Minister of Local Development, and Major General Ashraf El-Gendy, the Governor of Gharbia, witnessed the signing ceremony.

At the Ministry of Local Development's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, the contract was signed.

The contract was signed by Major General Ahmed Anwar, Secretary General of Gharbia Governorate, and Engineer Karim El-Sabaa, CEO of Zero Carbon Sustainable Development Company, in the presence of a number of officials from the Ministries of Local Development and Environment, the Governorate, and the Company.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad, for her part, emphasized the eagerness of the Egyptian state to construct the infrastructure as part of the integrated management process of the solid waste system, which is carried out with the approval and orders of His Excellency the President of the Republic. She also pointed out that two steps have been taken with regard to the operating contracts portion, one of which is related to the cleaning system fees, which started last May at the governorate and urban community levels and is a significant step to guarantee the system's sustainability.

The environment minister stated that Zero Carbon Company will run the factory, which was built using three lines to generate RDF. The minister emphasized the significance of the governorate's help in ensuring that trash reaches the facility as a crucial step in the business's operation.

The state has fully renovated three factories at the Dafrah treatment facilities complex for waste treatment, organic fertilizer production, and alternative fuel to handle waste generated by the city of Tanta, according to Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment. The complex includes six sorting lines, each with a capacity of 20 tons per hour, for a total of 120 tons per hour, meaning the factories can treat 1920 tons of solid municipal waste per day (two shifts).

 The lack of a desert hinterland, the rise in waste generation, and the difficulties the governorate faces in collecting and transporting waste in the recycling section are the reasons for Gharbia Governorate's unique status, according to the environment minister. The minister also mentioned that the ministry is providing support to the governorate through the National Municipal Solid Waste Program, which is affiliated with the ministry of the environment and works closely with the ministry of local development.

The initiative, which is supported by the German government, the German Development Bank, GIZ, and the European Union, focuses on four governorates: Gharbia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Assiut, and Qena. It should be noted that the program is currently in its second phase, which focuses on creating infrastructure and capacity.

 The Minister of Environment thanked the Ministry of Local Development for supporting the Cabinet's decision to ban the import of waste and work to encourage the establishment of the waste recycling industry, especially RDF, noting that 1.2 million have now been produced from RDF, and there are 5 cement factories that rent factories in order to generate RDF through recycling waste, stressing that there will be no harm to the cement industry and its private investments.

The government's program, as emphasized by the environment minister, intends to raise recycling rates over the next three years through collaboration and coordination between the ministries of local development and environment. This will raise collection rates and lower the rate of safe burials.

For her part, Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development, stressed that the government, with all its ministries concerned with the solid municipal waste system, headed by the Ministry of Local Development and the Ministry of Environment, is working hard to implement the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to continue the efforts made to activate the new system for managing solid municipal waste, in light of the utmost importance that the state attaches to improving the environmental, health and living conditions of citizens, reducing pollution rates, as well as establishing a national industry for waste management.

The Minister of Local Development pointed out that the state is keen to involve Egyptian private sector companies in the solid municipal waste system and provide an opportunity for national companies working in the field of waste, and to offer infrastructure projects in the system that have been implemented to private companies to manage them and preserve the investments pumped by the state in this regard during the past period, noting that during the recent period she witnessed the signing of contracts for the management and operation of waste treatment and recycling plants between the governorates of Qena and Sohag and the Misr Cement Group.

Dr. Manal Awad added that the ministry has closely followed up on the waste system projects in Gharbia Governorate since the start of implementing the integrated system for solid municipal waste management, the total cost of which has so far reached 275 million pounds, funded by the ministry.

The establishment of a waste treatment and recycling plant in the city of El-Mahalla El-Kubra has been completed at a cost of 90 million pounds. The removal of historical accumulations of waste in the centers of (Dafra - El-Mahalla El-Kubra - Tanta - Basion - Samanoud - Kafr El-Zayat) has also been completed, with a total of 775 thousand tons of waste at a cost of 85 million pounds.

The establishment of a waste recycling and treatment plant complex in Dafra has also been completed, which includes 3 factories (Sadat - Old Dafra - New Dafra) with a total of 6 lines, which have been fully developed by the Ministry of Military Production at a total cost of about 100 million pounds and a production capacity of 1,200 tons per day.

The Minister of Local Development also indicated that within the framework of the Ministry's cooperation with international development partners, a new solid waste recycling plant is being established in the city of Dafra with a design capacity of 1,800 tons/day as part of the Kitchener Drain water quality improvement projects.

She  noted that the Ministry will work during the coming period to continue offering the management and operation of infrastructure projects for the waste system from recycling and treatment plants and safe sanitary landfills that have been completed on the land of various governorates of the Republic to national private sector companies in order to achieve maximum benefit from the investments pumped by the state during the past years.

Dr. Manal Awad praised the efforts of the executive teams concerned with the solid waste system in the Ministries of Local Development and Environment for the effort made during the past period since the launch of the system on the land of the governorates, pointing out the importance of the Western Governorate providing the necessary support to the company to implement the contract that was signed today.

For his part, Major General Ashraf El-Gendy stressed that there is a main direction in the governorate, which is to work on preserving the environment and safely disposing of waste accumulations in a way that does not affect the public health of citizens, by activating the integrated management system for solid municipal waste, which is based in one of its axes on developing the infrastructure for the recycling and treatment system by involving the private sector in the system.

 El-Gendy continued: The experience of operating the waste recycling plant in El-Mahalla in the governorate is a model that should be emulated in the path of partnership and cooperation between the government and the private sector, to expand projects to support the transition towards green and reduce carbon emissions.

He  noted that the complex of recycling and solid waste treatment plants in Dafra is being built on an area of 11.5 acres with an average daily generation of 650: 700 tons / day and consists of 3 factories (Sadat / Old Dafra / New Dafra) consisting of 2 lines in each factory.

 The development of 6 lines has been completed through military production and 8 screens, 6 of which are fixed and 2 are mobile, with a design production capacity of 80 tons / hour. As for the equipment, there are 8 trucks with a capacity of 40 tons / 2 vehicles with a capacity of 20 tons / 3 excavators / 2 large loaders / 3 small articulated loaders / 14 crawler loaders / 12 agricultural tractors / 12 tractor trailers / 5 wetting trailers / 5 fertilizer turning machines / 6 vehicles with a capacity of 5 tons).

 He explained that a new waste recycling plant is being established adjacent to the old plant on an area of 12  carat, 11 feddan with a design capacity of 1800 tons / day within the project to improve the quality of Kitchener Drain water.

The project, according to Zero Carbon Sustainable Development Company CEO Eng. Karim El-Sabaa, fits into the company's plan to keep growing, investing in the regional market, and supporting the state's initiatives to combat climate change, achieve sustainability, and cut carbon emissions. All of these initiatives will be carried out in close collaboration with all government agencies, particularly the Ministries of Environment and Local Development.

 In the new project in Gharbia Governorate, where the company will take on the task of processing approximately one million tons annually at the current governorates, he noted that the company looks forward to completing its successes achieved in alternative fuel production projects and safe disposal of solid waste.

El-Sabaa added that the company has been able over the past years to be at the forefront of distinguished companies in alternative fuel production projects used in the cement industry as an alternative to coal, and is also working to develop its organic fertilizer product to be used as an alternative to chemical fertilizers in agriculture.

Al-Sabaa added that the company's business volume in the Egyptian market amounts to about 100 million pounds, noting that the company is looking forward to continuing expansion by pumping new investments worth about 500 million pounds during the coming year 2025 by establishing new projects in many governorates of the republic.