Orascom TMT: Waste-to-Energy can save Egypt US$500 million annually

Generating electricity from recycling agricultural and environmental wastes can save up to US$500 million dedicated to import coal annually in Egypt, deputy CEO of Orascom Telecom Media & Technology Holding (OTMT) Tamer Al-Mahdi said Monday.

Recycling can also contribute to generate around 600-1.000 megawatts of electricity annually.

Speaking at the second annual energy conference kicked off Monday in Cairo, Al-Mahdi stressed the importance of maximising the usage of industrial and agricultural wastes (biomass), which amount to 20 million tonnes annually.

The second annual energy conference was held on Monday in Cairo, with the theme of “Energy and the future of investment in Egypt”.

The waste volume in Egypt is estimated now around 70 million tonnes annually, varied between 20 millionsolid waste tonnes, 30 million agricultural waste tonnes, and 20 million tonnes resulted from waterways purification.

Moreover, the OTMT’s Deputy CEO referred that his company signed an agreement with Lafarge during Egypt Economic Development Conference, held last March in Sharm El-Sheikh, to convert large quantities of industrial and agricultural wastes into fuel to be used in Lafarge’s Egypt factory. This agreement will also contribute to lessen Egypt’s dependence in coal as source of energy, he added.