The third iteration of the Smart Green Projects initiative just wrapped up with a fresh batch of 18 green projects awarded, spanning a number of green sectors including sustainable construction, smart cities, circular economy, renewable energy, waste management, sustainable tourism, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and emissions reduction.

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What’s the Smart Green Projects initiative? The Planning Ministry unveiled the SGP initiative in the lead-up to 2022’s COP27 summit. The initiative calls on large, medium-sized, and small-scale domestic projects, startups, nonprofit community initiatives and activities, and gender-related and sustainability-focused projects that aim to make the country greener using tech solutions.

The criteria: The projects need to check a number of boxes, ensuring they’re both green and tech-driven, they’re economically feasible and scalable, and that they deliver on sustainability and empowerment metrics.

The top 18: The selected projects include the top three projects in each of six categories — large-scale projects, medium-scale projects, small-scale projects, women, climate, and sustainability projects, startups, and non-profit community initiatives.

Large-scale projects:

Medium-scale projects:

  • Badr El Din Petroleum’s Flare Gas Reduction and Thermal Emissions Reduction project in Matrouh;
  • Tree Forest project in Qantara East Industrial Zone in Ismailia;
  • TerraTech Environment Solutions ‘ project for fiberglass rebar manufacturing in Dakahlia.

Small-scale projects:

Women, climate, and sustainability projects:

  • Mangrove Bees project from the Red Sea;
  • Shrimp Shell Waste Recycling and Women’s Livelihood Improvement project in Fayoum’s Shakshouk;
  • A project that uses biofloc tech and bacillus subtilis bacteria for natural food production and aquaculture water treatment in Damietta.

Non-profit community initiatives:

  • Smart Green Rehabilitation and Reform Centers Centers in Minya;
  • Hatching and Economic Production of Endangered Sea Cucumber Species project from Suez;
  • Initiative to plant 1.9k poinciana trees.

Startups:

  • Contactless radar system for medical diagnostics from Damietta;
  • Green nanotech project to reduce pollution and boost agriculture in Gharbia;
  • Low-cost industrial wastewater treatment project in Qena.

By the numbers: The third iteration of the initiative brought in over 5.7k applications from across Egypt, the largest number of applications came from Cairo, followed by Alexandria, Giza, and Beheira. Some 354 projects made it to the final phase.

As for the projects that weren’t selected, they will receive technical support from the Environment Ministry to help develop and refine project ideas into actionable models, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said. Projects also received support from the CIT Ministry, which trained applicants to embed digital components and sustainable tech in their submissions, according to CIT Minister Amr Talaat.

The initiative has helped accelerate Egypt’s green transition and embed a culture of innovation and environmental responsibility, according to Hisham Badr, the general coordinator of the initiative. Over 17k projects have been submitted since its launch, helping turn climate risks into economic opportunities and making the initiative into a regional and global model for climate action, according to Badr. The third iteration of the initiative saw stronger representation from green buildings, sustainable fashion, and sustainable tourism — reflecting rising public interest in sustainability, Badr added.

FRESH ENTERIES TO THE GREEN VILLAGE INITIATIVE-

Newcomers to the Green Village Initiative: The governors of Gharbia, Menoufia, and New Valley were recognized after their villages of General Sobeeh, Nahtai, and Shama received the Tarsheed certificate — one of the world’s top 10 sustainability certifications for zero-emissions practices — from the Egyptian Green Building Council, part of the World Green Building Council.

What we know about the initiative: Launched in late 2022 with green architectural consultancy firm ECOnsults hired to consult and project manage, the project aims to rehabilitate 175 villages across the 20 governorates that are part of the Haya Karima (Decent Life) Initiative, and certify them under the Egyptian Tarsheed rating system. The aim is to build resilience against climate change in Egypt’s largely rural economy, with ambitious goals to save 50% of per capita water consumption in the villages, and irrigation water consumption by 40%.

** DIVE DEEPER- We have a dedicated story on the Green Village Initiative, which you can check out here.

DATA POINT– Green projects accounted for 50% of total public investments in FY2024-2025, up from 15% in FY2020-2021. The government is aiming to push the figure to 55% in the upcoming fiscal year.

Your top green economy stories for the week:

  • More green ammonia projects incoming? Air Liquide Egypt and China’s United Energy Group inked an MoU to develop green ammonia projects using green hydrogen in Egypt. The partnership will see Air Liquide supply green nitrogen for the project and work with the Chinese company to use it for producing ammonia.
  • Sterlite Power is mulling a USD 5-6 bn electricity grid specifically for green hydrogen projects. The project aims to enhance Egypt’s energy infrastructure and support the country’s transition toward clean energy.
  • China’s SBH Kibing Solar New Energy is looking to set up a USD 700 mn solar panel glass manufacturing facility in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The plant is expected to produce 1.5 mn tons of solar panel glass and 1.1 mn tons of high-purity silica sand annually, the majority of which will be exported.
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