Environment credit line (SPAP)

Environment credit line (SPAP)

 

Project Description
The AFD credit line will finance the first component  of the SPAP (Second Pollution Abatement Project). This component consists in an investment facility  for pollution abatement, cleaner production and energy efficiency projects carried out by the Egyptian industrial sector.

Implementing Agency

National Bank of Egypt

Other partners
EEAA (Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency) for reviewing and monitoring the industrial pollution abatement subprojects, and participating commercial banks for on-lending the project funds to private Egyptian companies.

Final beneficiaries

Companies investing for reducing their polluting emissions

Development objective
To improve the living conditions of the Egyptian population , by reducing industrial pollution and supporting the sustainable development of productive activities

Project’s specific objective

Contributing to reduce air and water pollution abatement in hot spots located in and around Greater Cairo and Alexandria

Content of the SPAP Project
The SPAP project is the second phase of the Egyptian Pollution Abatement Project (EPAP, 1997-2004). It includes:

- A first component dedicated to investment financing for pollution abatement in hot spots located in and around Greater Cairo and Alexandria, either directly by the National Bank of Egypt, or through funds on-lent to local commercial banks that participate in the project. For benefiting from the grant element of the loans, the investment projects prepared by companies have to be approved by the EEAA, and their impact on the environment monitored.

- A second component dedicated to technical assistance for strengthening the implementing capacities of EEAA, participating banks, and other project shareholders.

- A third component dedicated to carbon finance , wimth two objectives: 1) Organize the use, particularly for pollution abatement, of taxes collected by the Egyptian Government on carbon rights generated by projects in the country 2) Facilitate the access of Egypt to the emerging international carbon market.


Project duration
5 years (2007-2011)

Impact

The project will have an impact on air quality, rivers and canals water quality, and on the reduction of wilderness dumps sites for industrial waste . The impact will be measured through two complementary methods:

•  Emissions reduction by the companies benefiting from the project . The objective is a 75% abatement of emissions in the hot spots targeted by the project.

•  Improvement of air and water quality in the two project areas . The improvement will be measured; however, it is not possible to quantify a priori objectives, as the improvement also depends on other pollution sources that are not considered by the project (pollution due to transports for example).