Environment Min. studies using electric vehicles in public transport

CAIRO – 11 July 2018: Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad held a meeting to discuss a study that suggests including electric vehicles in the public transport service provided by the state, within the framework of the national efforts aiming to limit air pollution.

The meeting discussed including such technology in Egypt’s public transport, exploring its economic feasibility and its role in achieving a sustainable and safe method of transportation besides its expected contribution to limit road accidents and decrease noise.

Applying the technology would also help save energy, and limit health problems and diseases that result from the environmental pollution, according to a statement by the ministry.

Fouad affirmed the importance of such studies, saying that they come within the framework of the ministry’s duty to limit pollution, preserve national resources and achieve sustainable development.

Fouad was named as the minister of environmental affairs in June, along with 11 other newly-appointed ministers, as part of the new Cabinet headed by Mostafa Madbouly who succeeded Sherif Ismail.

She is the third female minister to serve as the environment minister after Laila Rashid Eskandar and Nadia Makram Ebeid. Fouad is an assistant professor of economy and political science in Cairo University.

Fouad has served as the acting director of the Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies since 2014.

She represented Egypt in a number of international conferences within the framework of the Green Climate Fund. In addition, she headed a committee that managed to get a fund of $54 million to support Egypt's environmental program for renewable energy.