Hurghada Residents Report Black Smoke From Waste Burning as Egypt Unveils EGP 376 Million Waste Overhaul for Red Sea

Residents in Hurghada are complaining of "suffocating smells and black smoke" from waste being burned around the city, according to a report from Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Separately this week, Egypt's Minister of Local Development, Manal Awad, announced that 376 million Egyptian pounds (roughly $7.7 million) will be invested to develop an "integrated system" for waste management across Red Sea Governorate, according to Yalla Business and Maalomat Mubasher. The announcement came alongside news that the ministry had also handed over a new sanitary landfill further south in Shalateen, at a cost of 80 million pounds.

• 376 million EGP pledged for an integrated waste management system covering Red Sea Governorate
• Announced by Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad
• Comes as Hurghada residents report black smoke and odors from waste burning

No outlet has said whether the new investment specifically targets the open burning that residents describe, and none gave a start date, contractor, or timeline for when Hurghada would see new collection or disposal infrastructure on the ground.

For a city that depends on tourism, complaints about smoke and smell carry a cost beyond public health — they touch the open-air experience visitors come to the Red Sea coast for. Residents will be watching whether the new funding translates into visible change in how the city's waste is collected and disposed of, rather than burned in the open.