Egypt's Ministers Coordinate on Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production
CAIRO – 17 April 2025: Egypt's ministers of petroleum, environment, and civil aviation held a joint meeting at the Ministry of Petroleum's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital to coordinate efforts on the ongoing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production project.
The project, currently being implemented by the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), forms a core part of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources' strategy to support sustainable development and environmental stewardship.
Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad underscored the importance of aligning efforts across sectors to support Egypt's transition to clean and sustainable energy sources—particularly within the aviation sector, which plays a critical and environmentally sensitive role.
Fouad highlighted that SAF production marks a pivotal step toward reducing the aviation sector's carbon footprint. She emphasized that carbon certificates can only be sold or traded in accordance with specific standards and regulations. The Ministry of Petroleum, she noted, has outlined emission reduction targets as part of Egypt's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and has developed mechanisms for the regulation of carbon certificate sales.
She also referenced the national bioeconomy strategy, which aims to promote biofuel production as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative. Used cooking oil, a key input for SAF production, has been the focus of a comprehensive study conducted by the Waste Management Regulatory Agency, which now classifies it as a valuable resource.
Tamer Heikal, chairman of the Egyptian Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (ESAF), presented the project's business plan, objectives, and implementation roadmap. Heikal stated that the $530 million project has completed its feasibility studies in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
He emphasized the project's strong economic potential, noting that it will utilize advanced hydrotreating technology to convert used cooking oil into 120,000 tons of SAF annually. The fuel will be used to meet domestic demand and support exports.
The facility is being constructed on a 100,000-square-meter site opposite Dekheila Port. Procedures are currently underway to select a technology licensor and an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor. The project is also progressing in partnership with four international financial institutions.
Heikal added that efforts are in motion to market the SAF to global aviation companies and to secure consistent supplies of used cooking oil. He stressed the importance of cross-sector collaboration—particularly with the ministries of environment and civil aviation—to accelerate the project's completion and maximize its returns.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mid East Info
7 hours ago
- Mid East Info
CNTXT AI and Actualize Partner to Launch Dialect-Aware Arabic AI Voice Agent, Targeting GCC's $2.2B Conversational AI Market
This collaboration will enable enterprises to automate voice interactions in Arabic dialects, streamlining tasks like booking confirmations and service inquiries. Dubai, UAE: CNTXT AI, a Data and AI enabler driving AI readiness in the region, has partnered with Actualize, a leader in real-time voice automation, to launch a next-generation Arabic AI voice agent that understands and responds to regional dialects in real time, enhancing customer engagement across key service touchpoints. The collaboration addresses persistent challenges in Arabic voice technology — from underrepresentation of regional dialects to the need for privacy-compliant, locally hosted deployments. With the GCC's digital economy accelerating, voice automation is emerging as a critical layer in customer operations. According to IMARC, the GCC conversational AI market is expected to grow from $325 million in 2024 to over $2.1 billion by 2033, expanding at an annual rate of 23.6%, driven by rising demand for personalized, on-demand voice services. This partnership responds directly to that demand — offering a ready-to-deploy, Arabic-native voice agent that meets regional enterprise needs from day one. The AI voice agent combines Munsit, CNTXT AI's proprietary Arabic speech-to-text model, with Actualize's voice automation platform to deliver accurate voice interaction. The Arabic AI voice agent is now available for public trial with no sign-up or downloads required. Built for High-Impact Use Cases The Arabic voice agent is tailored to high-frequency, high-value business scenarios where (timely, context-aware voice communication enhances efficiency and customer satisfaction.) such as: Booking Confirmation – Automatically follows up with customers to confirm appointments, reducing no-shows and improving operational efficiency – Automatically follows up with customers to confirm appointments, reducing no-shows and improving operational efficiency Receptionist Automation – Answers and routes incoming calls in the appropriate dialect, enhancing caller experience with culturally aware interaction – Answers and routes incoming calls in the appropriate dialect, enhancing caller experience with culturally aware interaction Sales Agent Support – Engages leads through outbound voice calls, capturing interest, qualifying intent, and escalating hot leads to human agents – Engages leads through outbound voice calls, capturing interest, qualifying intent, and escalating hot leads to human agents Order & Payment Follow-Up – Calls customers to verify order details, confirm deliveries, or issue payment reminders, improving conversion rates and cash collection – Calls customers to verify order details, confirm deliveries, or issue payment reminders, improving conversion rates and cash collection Government Services – Enables voice-enabled digital kiosks and e-service platforms with dialect recognition 'Voice AI built for our region's linguistic diversity is no longer a future concept — it's a business necessity,' said Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI. 'By combining Munsit's dialectal intelligence with Actualize's automation infrastructure, we're making it possible for organizations to serve Arabic-speaking customers with clarity, confidence, and care.' A Regionally Tuned Solution for Arabic Speech Traditional speech technologies often fail to capture the depth and diversity of Arabic speech. Munsit, the speech-to-text model powering the voice agent, was developed to address this directly. The model has been independently benchmarked on six public datasets, outperforming industry leaders like OpenAI's Whisper and Meta's SeamlessM4T in Arabic speech recognition accuracy. The integrated voice agent supports real-time transcription, and localized pronunciation handling across dialects — while respecting regional data sovereignty and compliance requirements. 'Arabic deserves tech that speaks its language literally and culturally.' said Muhammed Shabreen, CEO at Actualize. 'This integration gives enterprises across MENA the voice tools they need to automate customer-facing operations while respecting language and cultural nuance.'
Egypt Today
2 days ago
- Egypt Today
Environment min. to MENA: We work to add other Egyptian cities to ICLEI network
File- Egyptian Minister Yasmine Fouad during the press conference on June 1, 2025- press photo CAIRO- 9 June 2025: Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad said her ministry is working to add other Egyptian cities to the Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) global network after the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh was designated as Egypt's first green city few days ago by the network. In statements to MENA on Monday, Fouad said that Sharm El Sheikh joined the ICLEI network, thanks to its sustainable development strategy, citing the injection of investments worth EGP 800 million in the new and renewable energy sources in the city to produce 51 megawatts of clean energy, the establishment of 145 kilometers of bike lanes, the introduction of a public bike-sharing system and robust solid waste management systems. She added the next phase will focus on activating the Sustainable Environmental and Social Strategic Development Strategy (SESSDS), through banning the use of single-use plastic in 50 hotels, empowering local community initiatives, especially in protected areas and coastal areas, and expanding partnerships with the private sector and international supporters.
Mid East Info
01-06-2025
- Mid East Info
Policy Shortcomings Puts SAF Production at Risk - Middle East Business News and Information
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that it expects Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production to reach 2 million tonnes (Mt) (2.5 billion liters) or 0.7% of airlines' total fuel consumption in 2025. 'While it is encouraging that SAF production is expected to double to 2 million tonnes in 2025, that is just 0.7% of aviation's total fuel needs. And even that relatively small amount will add $4.4 billion globally to the fuel bill. The pace of progress in ramping up production and gaining efficiencies to reduce costs must accelerate,' said Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General. The Problem with the Use of Mandates: Most SAF is now heading toward Europe, where the EU and UK mandates kicked in on 1 January 2025. Unacceptably, the cost of SAF to airlines has now doubled in Europe because of compliance fees that SAF producers or suppliers are charging. For the expected one million tonnes of SAF that will be purchased to meet the European mandates in 2025, the expected cost at current market prices is $1.2 billion. Compliance fees are estimated to add an additional $1.7 billion on top of market prices—an amount that could have abated an additional 3.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Instead of promoting the use of SAF, Europe's SAF mandates have made SAF five times more costly than conventional jet fuel. 'This highlights the problem with the implementation of mandates before there are sufficient market conditions and before safeguards are in place against unreasonable market practices that raise the cost of decarbonization. Raising the cost of the energy transition that is already estimated to be a staggering $4.7 trillion should not be the aim or the result of decarbonization policies. Europe needs to realize that its approach is not working and find another way,' said Walsh. IATA's Role in Supporting the Development of a Global SAF Market To support the development of a global SAF market, IATA has worked on two initiatives: A SAF registry managed by the Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization (CADO) that brings a transparent and standardized system for tracking SAF purchases, usage and associated emissions reductions in compliance with international regulations such as Carbon Offsetting Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The SAF Matchmaker that will facilitate SAF procurement by matching airline requests for SAF with supply offers. Urgent Action by Governments Is Needed IATA urges governments to focus on three areas: Creating more effective policies. Eliminating the disadvantage that renewable energy producers face compared with big oil is necessary to scale renewable energy production in general and SAF production in particular. This includes redirecting a portion of the $1 trillion in subsidies that governments globally grant for fossil fuel. Develop a comprehensive approach to energy policy that includes SAF. Firstly, advancing SAF production requires an increase in renewable energy production from which SAF is derived. Secondly, it also requires policies to ensure SAF is allocated an appropriate portion of renewable energy production. A wholistic approach should support joint use of infrastructure, co-production and other measures that will benefit the energy transition for aviation and for all other economic sectors. Ensure the success of CORSIA as the sole market-based mechanism to address international aviation's CO2 emissions. IATA urges governments to make Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs) available to airlines. To date Guyana is the only state to have made their carbon credits available for airlines to purchase and claim against their CORSIA obligations. Focus on India: India, one of the emerging economies on the world stage today, is the third-largest oil user after the US and China. India launched the Global Biofuels Alliance to position biofuels as a key to energy transition and economic growth. This includes a target for 2% SAF blending for international flights by 2028 with enabling policies such as guaranteed pricing, capital support for new projects, and technical standards. IATA will be working with the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and Praj Industries Limited, to provide guidance on global best practices for life cycle assessment of the use of feedstocks in the country. As the third-largest global civil aviation market, India can strengthen its leadership in biofuels with the accelerated adoption of SAF through progressive policies.
