Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, chaired the first meeting of the Egyptian Council for Green Building and Sustainable Cities following its reformation. The meeting aimed to discuss the executive steps related to the national strategy for urban development, green building, and sustainability.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister expressed his satisfaction with convening the council after its reformation and the inclusion of representatives from relevant ministries, authorities, and real estate developers. He noted that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi launched the strategy on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum last November, affirming the political leadership’s commitment to protecting the state’s resources through effective environmental management based on improving the use of resources and energy. He emphasized that these measures will positively impact the economy while meeting citizens’ aspirations for a better quality of life and future. He added that, over the past period, coordination had taken place with relevant authorities to receive their views and proposals in preparation for implementing the strategy within a comprehensive vision.
The Minister further explained that the purpose of the council’s meeting was to discuss various aspects of the strategy and its objectives related to energy rationalization, while listening to members’ contributions to establish the foundations for approving the strategy in the upcoming meeting. He also clarified that the strategy includes a set of incentives designed to encourage both the private and public sectors to implement green projects, in line with specific criteria to benefit from these incentives.
During the meeting, the council’s responsibilities were reviewed, which include following up on the implementation of the strategy, developing systems for evaluating and certifying green and sustainable buildings, and proposing policies to spread these concepts. The council also focuses on enhancing regional and international cooperation and building human capacities through training, awareness, and innovation in the application of green building and sustainable city systems.
In this context, the participants discussed the connection between the green urban development strategy and other national strategies under Egypt’s Vision 2030 for sustainable development. They also reviewed Egypt’s involvement in international green urban initiatives and addressed the methodology for preparing the strategy, which focuses on improving the efficiency of energy, water, and resource use in cities, supporting green financing programs, encouraging innovation in green building technologies and materials, fostering sustainable cities, and strengthening green real estate projects as a key source of national income.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participants expressed their appreciation to the Ministry for its commitment to listening to all opinions and proposals to develop a comprehensive framework that ensures the national strategy for green and sustainable urban development achieves its intended goals in line with the aspirations of all stakeholders.
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