Ministry of Environment Plants 4,400 Trees in Cairo's Shaq El-Tha'ban

The Ministry of Environment has started planting 4,400 trees along the first kilometre of Cairo's Shaq El-Tha'ban area, as part of the national '100 Million Trees' initiative.

The 4,400 trees are expected to absorb 7 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day, at a rate of 2.7 million tonnes annually, according to the Ministry of Environment.

The afforestation project targets some of Egypt's most polluted areas. Shaq El-Tha'ban is considered one of the most important sites for the country's marble and granite industry, with hundreds of factories and workshops dedicated to the manufacture and export of marble.

The '100 Million Trees' initiative was launched in 2022 in tandem with preparations for the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El Sheikh. The initiative is a joint effort between the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Local Development and the New Urban COmmunities Authority, with Haya Karima - the national initiative to improve quality of life in rural areas - having helped plant around 500,000 trees already.