Resource information
This sector note presents the results of
the World Bank-led study on the development of a strategy of
the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt to respond to
air quality problems in Greater Cairo. The Greater Cairo
Metropolitan Area (GCMA) is the largest urban and industrial
center in Egypt, which, in 2009, was ranked eighth among the
world's top urban agglomerations. Twenty million people
live and work in Greater Cairo, which is surrounded by major
heavy industries to the north and the south, including
large, as well as small and medium enterprises. As in many
megacities in the world, air pollution has been a chronic
problem in Greater Cairo. The persistent air quality problem
represents a serious hurdle to the competitiveness that is a
key to the socioeconomic development of Greater Cairo and
therefore the nation. An action plan has prepared for the
implementation of the main sectorial policies. This action
plan will have to be developed and changed where required
because it can only be implemented within a coherent
framework of environmental, energy, and economic policies
that need to be defined and adopted by the government.
Therefore, the action plan, as presented in this report,
should be considered as a basis for ongoing discussions with
the government. These discussions must, in any case, be
continued to support the implementation of the work that has
been initiated through this report. The action plan also
identifies the entities that should be involved in or
responsible for implementing and monitoring specific activities.
