180917_CES-MED_National_Report_Egypt_FINAL2rev

employment of 8 to 10 per cent of the local workforce 22 . One of the sectors that have an immense and
considerable influence on the national economy is the building sector, which is closely bound to around
95 industries, including: steel, aluminium, cement, brick, glass, ceramics, gypsum and other related
industries 23 . Therefore, relying on sustainable and green materials in the building construction sector
would lead to making buildings sustainable and green by utilising low-carbon emitting technologies to
reduce the embodied energy.
Thus, this will contribute in meeting the new direction of the Government of Egypt in pursuing this
strategic goal of sustainable green growth path and adopting green economy, as a tool to achieve SD
and SDG No.7, 11, and 12 which are highlighted in Egypt’s SD Strategy 2030 24 . This suggests that energy
savings in buildings is a major activity of the SEAPs (SECAPs) implementation at both selected
governorates.
In 2010, the World Bank stated that Egypt faces overwhelming challenges to execute two moderately
sophisticated Building Energy Efficiency Codes (BEECs): the residential buildings and the commercial
buildings that were introduced in 2005 and 2009 respectively, in a milieu where basic building code
requirements could not be well enforced 25 . At that time, interest in energy efficiency was not high on
the agenda since energy subsidies were widespread in all sectors, especially for residential users. This
view changed in 2014, thus it is a priority for SEAPs (SECAPs) implementation.
The Unified Building Law (UBL) No. 119 of year 2008 issued by the Minister of HUUD and the
Presidential Decree issued on May 11, 2008, and its executive regulations and appendix ministerial
Decree No. 144 of year 2009 were ratified by the House of Parliament in May 2009 in order to
systemise and regulate the process of building across Egypt. This law was decreed in amendment with
the aim to be integrated into prior laws. It mainly addresses two main issues: i) Urban Planning (UP);
and ii) Planning and Urban Development (PUD). This law also covers in its mandate the Local
authorities’ units, touristic areas, industrial zones, and all urban areas in all regions of Egypt 26 . In
addition, under the legal framework of Building Law No. 119 of year 2008, the New Urban
Communities Authority (NUCA), provides all regulations pertaining to new communities outside of
metropolitan municipal boundaries in the form of Terms of Reference (TOR), and is responsible for
providing the infrastructure for said communities 27 . Nonetheless, the urban planning law was endorsed
with no reference to energy efficiency or green building, and lacking the incentives for adopting or
applying green concepts. However, a new simplified general building law, which is just now under
development, will provide a new motivation in constructing more energy efficient buildings. Strong
national government leadership and support are needed for developing compliance and enforcement
procedures that may be required at the local level. This is mainly required in training and capacity
building in the building sector and supply chain, and in removing energy subsidies 22 . The latter was
enacted in August 2016.
The National Housing and Building Research Centre (HBRC) under the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and
Urban Development (MoHUUD) issued the building codes. The HRBC also developed several codes
related to the energy consumption in buildings: a) Residential buildings; and b) Commercial buildings,
whereas that for the Governmental buildings and Industrial buildings are yet not developed nor
published). The development of these codes is part of the National Building Law No. 7 (1997) 28 . The
following codes have been developed, approved, and published in Arabic and English:
• Egyptian Code for Improving Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings, Part 1 Serial 1/306,
Decree 482 year 2005 (issue date: December 20, 2005),
• Egyptian Code for Improving Energy Consumption in Commercial Buildings, Part 2 serial 2/306,
Decree 190 year 2009 (issue date: May 12, 2009),
• Egyptian Code for House Design Standards, serial 602, decree 80 year 2009,
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THIS PROJECT IS FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION AND IS IMPLEMENTED BY THE HUMAN DYNAMICS CONSORTIUM