The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development inaugurates the meetings of the executive committees in the governorates responsible for the national initiative for smart green projects

Egypt's Ministry of Planning and Economic Development launched Wednesday the opening activities of the meetings of the executive committees in all governorates of the Republic who are responsible for the national initiative for smart green projects.

The meetings witnessed the presence of Ambassador Hisham Badr, General Coordinator of International Conferences at the Ministry and General Coordinator of the Initiative, and Eng. Khaled Mustafa, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry.


During his opening speech, Ambassador Hisham Badr stressed that the initiative is a priority at the highest level of the political leadership and is also consistent with Egypt's hosting of the Cop27 conference in Sharm El Sheikh last November.
He added that it represents a civilized initiative, as it is a qualitative leap in the way of greening projects in Egypt.


Badr added that 162 projects, represented in 6 categories, will be selected at the level of the 27 governorates through the executive committees in all governorates, to compete at the national level, as these projects will be presented in a competitive framework.
Badr indicated that one of the main objectives of the initiative is sustainability, explaining that the first year of the initiative will be the most challenging.


 Badr stressed that the initiative is continuing and will be repeated in the coming years, as the current global trend is towards green and smart projects that provide clean energy and preserve the environment, explaining that launching initiatives always requires holding training courses to spread awareness about this initiative and introduce it.


Ambassador Hisham Badr explained that one of the goals of the initiative is to spread social awareness about the challenges of climate change and the capabilities of modern technologies, and to develop a map of green and smart projects at the governorate level, linking them to funding agencies and attracting the necessary investments for them, from home and abroad.


For his part, Eng. Khaled Mustafa, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, said that the initiative is based on two main elements, the main element of which is the search for solutions.



Mostafa stressed that the initiative is not just an event within the framework of hosting Cop27, as it is planned to continue the initiative annually, taking the same steps while working to develop it, so that Egypt has local, realistic, participatory solutions and solutions that the countries of the world can share in Cop28.

During the day, Dr. Mohamed Mohamedy, Evaluation Director of the Egypt Award for Government Excellence and a member of the National Committee for the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects; Initiative objectives, evaluation mechanisms and criteria for participating projects, and the six target groups.

 He also referred to the role and tasks of the members of the executive committees in the governorates responsible for the initiative.

Mohammadi added that there are four criteria for evaluating projects: the green component, the technology/smart component, replicability, and impact.


 Mohammadi explained that the sixth category of the initiative categories (development projects related to women, climate change, and sustainability) is evaluated according to the previous criteria in addition to another criterion, which is empowerment and equal opportunities.



Dr. Ihab Shalaby, consultant for the Global Initiative for Sustainability Reporting and a faculty member at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, stressed the importance of the Egyptian character appearing in the projects participating in the initiative and trying to find innovative solutions to existing challenges.