Lafarge and OTMT sign MoU for development of waste management framework

Lafarge Egypt and Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E (OTMT) have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a waste management framework. This will enable municipal and agricultural waste to be processed into alternative fuels for utilisation at Lafarge’s cement plant in Egypt and elsewhere.

The agreement will help to generate jobs, reduce Egypt’s dependence on fossil fuels and contribute to the creation of a circular economy.

The MoU was signed at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on 14 March. According to Lafarge and OTMT, the event was specifically chosen because it represents a ‘key milestone in the implementation of the government’s medium-term reform program designed to accelerate the economic development of Egypt’.

“In line with our ‘Building Egypt 2030’ campaign, Lafarge is committed to help solve the issue of waste in Egypt, and take steps toward sustainable development,” said Hussein Mansi, CEO of Lafarge Egypt. “At Lafarge Egypt, we feel it is our responsibility as a leader in building solutions to provide services beyond our normal scope in cooperation with Orascom Telecom Media and Technology. Sharm el-Sheikh was a natural place for this signature, given the importance of this conference for the country’s future and the implementation of the medium-term reform program designed to accelerate the economic development of Egypt.”

Ecocem Industrial Ecology Egypt is a subsidiary of Lafarge Cement, responsible for developing, sourcing and pre-treating solutions for recovering waste as alternative fuels. Over the last three years, Lafarge Egypt and Ecocem have carried out a number of projects to increase their alternative fuel utilisation, with the aim of reaching an average fuel substitution rate of 25% by the end of this year. Since 2013, over 260 000 t of waste has been processed and burnt at Lafarge’s Sokhna plant.