Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab agreed to set up a non-governmental organization (NGO) for the use and production of biogas as part of the BioEnergy for Sustainable Rural Development project, the environment minister said on Sunday.

The organization will use the dung of on-farm animals in the production of biogas as part of the country's efforts to boost villagers with a permanent energy source and a bio fertilizer, said Khaled Fahmi in statements.

The BioEnergy for Sustainable Rural Development project is funded by the Environment Ministry in coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other Egyptian ministries concerned with the aim of encouraging the use of biomass energy in promoting sustainable rural development in Egypt and in reducing the negative global and local environmental impacts associated with the use of fossil fuels and the environmentally not sound management of agricultural and solid waste.

Director of the project Ahmed Medhat said the project aims at creating a new market for biogas in Egypt and encouraging youths to set up businesses offering that kind of services.

He added that the project also aims at training engineers and workers on building and maintaining biogas digester units and setting up an NGO to be responsible for biogas production.

The project is already offering services in 18 governorates and has set up 1,000 family size biogas units benefiting 6,000 citizens. These units will produce 40,000 biogas cylinders annually.

The project also set up a large biogas unit in a Fayyoum farm that produces 50 cubic meter of biogas daily to meet needs of villagers there.