Two waste transfer stations have been opened in Dakahleya and Gharbeya, Egypt, with a combined capacity of 600 tonnes per day. The facilities, located in Nabroh and Nsheil, are part of the solid-waste component of the Kitchener Drain water-quality improvement programme. The programme aims to reduce pollution from municipal waste, untreated sewage, and industrial discharges along the Kitchener Drain. The stations were opened at a cost of €3.8m.
The solid-waste programme is backed by a €79m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and an €8m European Union grant. The programme covers Dakahleya, Gharbeya, and Kafr El-Sheikh. Local Development and Environment Minister Manal Awad attended the inauguration, along with the governors of the three governorates, EU Ambassador to Egypt Angelina Eichhorst, and representatives of the EBRD and Egyptian agencies involved in the programme.
Each of the new transfer stations has a design capacity of 300 tonnes per day. The Nabroh facility serves the city and five surrounding rural units, while the Nsheil station serves Qutour and several surrounding villages, as well as areas linked to Mahalla El-Kubra. The stations use a direct-transfer system, where local collection vehicles unload waste from an elevated platform into larger trucks below.
The system is designed to separate shorter collection rounds from longer journeys to treatment or disposal facilities. Officials said the system should enable smaller collection vehicles to make more rounds while reducing fuel, maintenance, and transport costs. The Kitchener project director said the Nabroh station was designed to handle around 300 tonnes a day and that the transfer model could significantly reduce fuel consumption.
The ministry estimates that the Nabroh station could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 4.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per day through lower fuel consumption. The wider solid-waste programme also includes five recycling plants with a combined capacity of 4,200 tonnes per day. Two plants are scheduled to open in December and another two in February 2027.
The project also includes 47 waste collection and transport vehicles and upgrades to eight depots used to operate and maintain the fleet. Authorities also plan to close and rehabilitate the Qalabsho dumpsite, where an estimated 2.5 million cubic metres of accumulated waste cover about 60 feddans. The solid-waste component forms part of the broader Kitchener Drain programme, which also targets untreated sewage and industrial pollution.
Minister Manal Awad said the government was seeking to integrate the investment with wider waste-management programmes in Dakahleya, Gharbeya, and Kafr El-Sheikh, and urged officials to complete the remaining facilities according to schedule. The Kitchener Drain programme aims to improve water quality and reduce pollution in the Nile Delta region.
Key points
- The two waste transfer stations have a combined capacity of 600 tonnes per day.
- The solid-waste programme is backed by a €79m loan from the EBRD and an €8m European Union grant.
- The programme aims to reduce pollution from municipal waste, untreated sewage, and industrial discharges along the Kitchener Drain.
