Air quality represents a major priority for the Egyptian Government as it has dangerous impacts on the public health. This concern encompasses a number of trends:

Through the coordination and effective cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Interior, the decree of the Minister of Interior was issued:

A - To link between the issuance of the licenses of the Vehicles and its emissions testing, and the start of the implementation of this decree in the Qaluibia and Giza governorates. Such decree provides a new hope of the improvement of air quality and the first step of overcoming the problem of the vehicles' emissions, to be applied in many other governorates. This decree is essential for the reinforcement of Law No. 4 for 1994 on the protection of Environment.

B -The Ministry of State has already, in collaboration with USAID through the Cairo Air Improvement Project, delivered the traffic departments in Giza and Qaluibia governorates 38 devices for vehicles' emission testing, in addition to training those who are designated to the technical inspection of vehicles using diesel and benzene. It is worth mentioning that the application of the issuance of the vehicles' licenses in both governorates has started from June 1, 2003 on vehicles' emissions testing to combat the emissions of Carbon monoxide and Hydrocarbons.

C - The cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Interior has resulted in the establishment of the environment police: the first police stations to be inaugurated will be in the Regional Branch of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency in Greater Cairo and El-Fayoum as well as in Beni Siweif.

Due to the variety of pollution sources especially within Greater Cairo, the Ministry of Environment has formulated a plan of the relocation of the polluting activities outside the populated areas, among them the smelters, quarries, potteries, crackers, brick factories and coal and lime facilities as well as 1206 mining factories and 6000 textiles factories.

This funding plan is based on the contribution of the owners of these activities, applying the principle " Polluter pays". The estimated budget of this plan is L.E. 1745 million; the share of the government is about 15% of its total. In addition to that, the government provides soft loans for the relocation of these polluting activities to the desert. The owners of these activities contribute to the remainder of cost for 4 years starting from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2007.

The Ministry has, in cooperation with the competent governorates, identified the places of relocation of these polluting activities in El-Amal region in the Ain El Sokhna Road for all Cairo smelters and in Akrasha region for Qaluibia smelters, in addition to relocation of coal facilities to the industrial zone in Belbeis as well as the brick factories to Arab Abu Saad region.

As for the plan of the Ministry of Environment for pollution sources control in the big factories, it has prepared a plan in two phases as follows:

The first phase: factories in need of limited funds for approximately L.E. 23.13 million to combat pollution discharged from them.

The second phase: factories in need to huge funds for about L.E. 545.9 million. In this respect, the EEAA is implementing some of the projects that make available the funding and technical support for the industrial establishments, such as the Industrial Pollution Abatement Projects providing grants and soft loans offered by the World Bank as well as technical assistance as a grant from the Finnish Government. In addition, there is the Environment Protection Fund for the Public Sector Industries funded by the German Construction Bank that provides Euro 25.56 million as a grant from the German Government, representing a partial funding of 50 % of the necessary investments for the implementation of industrial waste treatment projects as well as soft loans presented from the Egyptian banks participating in this project.

Since the start of the practical application of Law No. 4 for 1994 and after the termination of the grace period provided by the Law and its Executive Regulation, the Ministry has established the Environmental Inspection Unit at the central level and prepared a manual of the policies and procedures for the inspection unit, which is considered the first manual in this field. This manual has specified the role and authorities of the environmental inspection in comparison to the other supervisory agencies concerned with the inspection on the establishments. This manual reemphasizes that the periodical follow-up and inspection are the effective means of the non-replication of violations.

For further improvement of air quality and the reduction of dust and sand rates, arising from Al-Khamaseen wind, the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs is implementing the Green Belt Project around Greater Cairo (Cairo-Giza-Qaluibia) along 100 km on the sides of the circular road with a width of 10-25 m, cultivating it with Acacia and Cypress trees.

This project aims at protecting the citizens of the Greater Cairo from dust and sands and conserving their health. In addition, it provides job opportunities to the graduated youth whether in the implementation of the project or its maintenance, besides using the treated sewage water for the irrigation of these trees to be economically made use of.

This project is implemented in four phases in the three governorates: starting from Cairo Governorate in the region from El-Moneib Bridge to Misr Ismailia Desert Road, in Qaluibia Governorate to El-Kanater establishment, and in Giza Governorate to El-Moneib Bridge. The total cost of the project is L.E. 13.7 million.

The Green Belt is not the last project implemented by the Ministry for the improvement of air quality but there is also the National Programme for the Safe Use of Treated Sewage Water, in collaboration with the Agriculture, Irrigation, Housing, Local Development and Environment Ministries as well as the different governorates.

The concept of this project depends on the investment of treated sewage water since Egypt produces about 3 billions m3 annually at the cost of 14 Piastres/meter with a total of approximately L.E 14 million, and turns this problem into a social, environmental and economical value. Instead of disposing this treated water into water channels and contaminating it, it can be used in afforestation.

This project achieves several social, economic and environmental benefits as it basically improves air quality through the plantation of trees that are the source of Oxygen for they intake Carbondioxide and produce Oxygen. In addition, it helps in combating desertification, protecting water resources and soil from pollution, building green belts and wind obstructers, to be used in producing woods instead of importing them. It also helps in providing job opportunities for the youth and establishing the new urban communities side by side with these forests. There are successful attepts for this project in Serabuim area in Ismailia, Sadat City, Asuit, Sohag, Luxor, Qena, New Valley, Tour Sinai, El-Saaf , and Aswan.

This national project is carried out at several phases. The first phase is executed in an area of 82940 thousand Fedan around 72 Sewage stations in the different governorates all over the Republic at the cost of L.E. 5 thousand/ Fedan, providing a collective revenue during the lifetime of the forest, i.e. 12 years. The implementation is carried out for 8 thousands Fedan annually.

There is no doubt that success that will come out of the real partnership between the Government and the Private Sector in the relocation of polluting activities outside the residential regions, based on environmental principles and standards supported by environment friendly technologies will directly assist in combating the Black Cloud phenomenon that we suffer from in October annually. Scientists from the Scientific Research Academy, the National Research Center, the Environment Research Council, the Meteorology Organization and the Specialized National Councils have a consensus that the real reasons for the Cloud are confined to a climate phenomenon, namely, the existence of high pressure that appears every year at the same time, accompanied by a thermal change and stability of wind, which all lead to the accumulation of pollution in Cairo air.