EcoCity capacity building in NBC, a collaboration project between Finland and Egypt

This paper describes the purpose, objectives and main tasks of the collaboration project "EcoCity capacity building in NBC" which started 1.2.2013 , is running for 2,5 years and is funded by theMinistryforForeign Affairs of Finland. Egypt is facing great challenges in regards to eco-effectiveness in the built environment. The pressure on the environment is high, main problems being water, industrial wastewater and waste management, pollution caused by traffic, high electricity need due to cooling demand. In NewBorg ElArab City (NBC) industry plays a significant role and its environmental impact is certainly high. Apart from the environmental pressure, economic pressure isalso becoming an increasingly important issue. Energy has been heavily subsidised in Egypt which has resulted in very cheap energy for consumers. This situation is changing now, in view of the economic pressure andenergy will be less subsidised leading to increasing energy prices. This puts pressure on a more effective use of energy. One of the sustainable solutions is hydrogen production from organic fraction of solid waste to substitute the conventional hydrocarbon fuels. The project's objective is to increase the knowhow of the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) in the field of EcoCity planning. Raised awareness of local stakeholders is another objective. As a case study for these activities a feasibility study will be made for turning NBC into an EcoCity. An EcoCity roadmap for Egypt will also be carried out in the course of the project. The project will be conducted in close collaboration between Egyptian experts at E-JUSTand VTTTechnical Research Centre of Finland. Activities like residents surveys, state of the art analysis, establishment of the energy efficiency office, student competitions, workshops and seminars, training sessions, study tours, etc. will be carried out during the project.