Green Cities Programme In May 2023, the Governorate of Alexandria (the Governorate) launched the development of a Green City Action Plan (GCAP), as a commitment to systematically assess Alexandria’s environmental and infrastructure challenges and support its transition to a green, low-carbon and resilient future. The Alexandria GCAP offers the opportunity to align the Governorate’s long term development goals with an aspirational green growth agenda and provide a roadmap of long-term investments that will generate benefits across multiple sectors. Existing Conditions in Alexandria Governorate Alexandria (the City) is one of the oldest cities in the world and as such offers a complex urban structure developed over the years. Its ancient history makes it a vibrant cultural hub boasting heritage sites and educational institutions. Alexandria is also the second largest city in Egypt with a population of around 5.6 million residents and host to the second largest urban economy in Egypt, with industries ranging from textiles and chemicals to construction, tourism, and shipping. Given the Governorate’s national significance and growth, the City’s surface area has doubled over the past 30 years and is expected to continue to expand as population is forecast to reach 6.8 million by 2030. Constrained by its geography, Alexandria developed along the coast across 85 km on a T-shaped peninsula, located between the sea, lagoons and former lakes, having a significant impact on these areas.
Land use
Considerable efforts have been made to improve infrastructure provision over time, however, significant opportunities remain to tackle the following challenges: Land use - Over a third of the urban area is increasingly becoming vulnerable to coastal flooding. Unplanned development outside the urban core and presence of heavy industry across several locations adversely impact the environment and significantly constrain the ability to provide adequate infrastructure, while a highly dense urban core with limited green and open spaces makes it difficult to address climate related risks.
