Date: 10 April 2026
Dr Manal Awad, Egypt's Minister of Local Development and Environment, held a meeting with a delegation from Al Mana Holding Group to review progress on an integrated project to produce biodiesel. The initiative forms part of the state's strategy to support the circular economy and extract maximum value from waste streams.
Key project details:
- Production capacity: 100 tonnes of clean fuel per day.
- Feedstock: The project relies principally on combining animal and poultry waste, generated by slaughterhouses and rendering units, with used cooking oils.
- Attendees: The meeting was attended by Yasser Abdallah, Chief Executive of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, and Dr Zaghloul Khedr, adviser to the minister on slaughterhouses and the environment. Representing the company were Chief Executive Mohamed Hamdoun, engineer Mohamed Sherif, company consultant Dr Fathia Soliman, and a number of other senior officials.
Regulating the safe management of used cooking oils
The minister underlined her commitment to tightening oversight of the used cooking oil system through the Waste Management Regulatory Authority (WMRA), which has taken several significant steps:
- An integrated regulatory framework: The authority has established clear rules governing the collection, transport, storage and export of used cooking oils, making it the sole body competent to issue licences under precise technical and environmental standards.
- Legal basis: The framework implements Ministerial Decree No. 150 of 2025, with government approval, formalising the status of this sector.
- Awareness and coordination: The authority held a series of meetings at the Federation of Egyptian Industries with processing and recycling companies to brief them on the procedures. A guidance manual was also issued setting out the rules for carrying out the activity and the requirements for obtaining environmental licences and export permits.
Al Mana Holding's outlook
- The group expressed appreciation for the government's efforts to regulate the sector, noting that these steps help attract investment and accelerate the shift to a circular economy.
- The company explained that the project draws on the latest global recycling technologies to convert waste into a clean energy source.
- The group affirmed its strong confidence in the Egyptian market and its interest in a strategic partnership to build an integrated oil collection system delivering sustainable economic and environmental returns.
Closing directives and expected gains
Concluding the meeting, Dr Manal Awad directed that the use of slaughterhouse fats be expanded and combined with used cooking oils in order to:
- Produce high-quality, environmentally friendly bio-jet fuel and biodiesel.
- Strengthen Egypt's international standing and leadership in environmental fields.
- Increase Egyptian exports of clean fuel, contributing directly to higher foreign currency earnings for the state.
