EU supports Egypt's leather industry

BRUSSELS - 3 June 2018: The European Union has announced an new initiative to support leather industry in a number of countries, including Egypt.

Titled "SwitchMed", the EU initiative aims at making leather industry in Egypt more resource efficient, profitable and clean, the EU said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Adopting eco-innovations is both good for the business and the environment, the statement added.

Initial cooperation steps were undertaken by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the initiative for establishing two projects.

The first one deals with the set-up of a new 50,000 square meter tannery to supply leather for the public services, equipped with state of the art eco-friendly technology developed by INESCOP innovation network.

The project is intended to create about 100 jobs and a production site with a turnover of approx. 4 million euros per year.

A framework cooperation is envisaged also for a second project to the set-up of a new plant for the production of gelatine out of untanned leather waste from local tanneries.

Funded by the European Union, the SwitchMed Program is implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the UN Environment's Economy Division, the UN Environment Mediterranean Action Plan and its Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP/RAC).

The initiative supports and connects stakeholders to scale-up social and eco innovations in the Mediterranean.