Egyptian Pollution Abatement Project (EPAP)

The Egyptian Pollution Abatement Project (EPAP) is a nationwide industrial pollution reduction program targeting Egypt’s main urban and industrial areas, including Greater Cairo and Alexandria.¹ Launched in 1998 under Egypt’s National Environmental Action Plan, the project is known for combining concessional credit lines with technical assistance, creating a market-based model that encourages factories to invest in cleaner production technologies.²

The program’s vision is to “establish a self-sustaining pollution-abatement mechanism driven by industry demand and supported by strong public oversight”.³ It seeks to cut harmful emissions, improve air and water quality, and strengthen regulatory enforcement through the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA).⁴ Its objectives are to fund key industrial abatement projects, strengthen EEAA’s monitoring capacity, and align environmental investments with Egypt’s sustainable development goals.^{5 6}
To achieve these objectives, EPAP channels about €145 million through the National Bank of Egypt in its current phase.⁷ Key components include:

• Soft loans for wastewater treatment upgrades at industrial facilities.⁸
• Grants for online emissions monitoring equipment connected to EEAA’s central database.⁹
• Technical assistance packages that help firms prepare feasibility studies and comply with environmental standards.¹⁰
• Energy-efficiency retrofits and hazardous waste minimization, targeting pollution at the source.¹¹
• Cleaner production audits integrating preventive strategies into production processes.¹²

EPAP is led by the Ministry of Environment and EEAA, the implementation authority. Financing partners include the World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB), Agence Française de Développement, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the European Union (EU).¹³

EPAP implementation is divided into three phases:

• Phase I (1998-2005): piloted the credit-line model with US$40.7 million, financing 15 factory projects.¹⁴
• Phase II (2006-2015): expanded funding to US$165.97 million, achieving an average 80% reduction in targeted pollutants at participating plants.¹⁵
• Phase III (2014-present): incorporates additional EIB and EU grants, broadens eligibility to small- and medium-sized enterprises, with disbursements ongoing.¹⁶