The Global Environment Facility, under the auspices of the World Bank, has approved a grant valued at US$7.15 million to help finance an integrated management project to protect the Alexandrian coastal zone. The announcement of the grant was made by the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation.

The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, the project's main beneficiary, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Ministry of International Cooperation, the project aims to improve institutional mechanisms for sustainable management along the coast of Alexandria, particularly by lowering environmental pollution caused by land-based activities.

The project will consist of three components.

The first involves planning, building institutional capacity and putting into place oversight mechanisms. A plan is currently being prepared to manage the coastal regions of Alexandria, and to monitor water quality in Lake Mariout just south of the city.

The second component of the project focuses on limiting water pollution through the use of innovative techniques to treat waste water. The third one involves the provision of technical assistance for the design and establishment of evaluation systems to monitor the project.

With the World Bank's approval of the grant, the financial institution now funds a total of 13 projects in Egypt, together worth around US$75.47 million. Of these grants, three relate specifically to the environment, with a total value of US$58.12 million.

Translated from the Arabic Edition