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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Land of the rising sun
By Sahar El-BahrFerdinand Marie de Lesseps submitted the project for the digging of the Suez Canal to Khedive Said (1854-1869). Work on the waterway started in 1859. An international committee composed of members from England, Holland, Russia, Austria, Spain and Italy named Port Said after Said Pasha; the city was officially founded in 1860, a harbour on the Mediterranean coast at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal.
Since then, the Canal has witnessed more than most waterways. Today, it is one of Egypt's most important sources of revenue. Around 18,000 ships pass through it every year. "This is not enough," asserts Maj.-Gen. Mustafa Sadeq, governor of Port Said. Many officials agree. A giant new artificial harbour is therefore being built east of Port Said to cope with the volume of international trade and to accommodate the increasing number of super-tankers. This harbour will be the third largest in the world after those of Italy and Singapore.
The Sharq Al-Tafri'a (East Port Said) project is located at the north-western corner of Sinai, bordering on both the Mediterranean Sea and the northern entrance of the Suez Canal -- "the middle of the world", Sadeq exclaims. The area will therefore link three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.
"The project is located on most of the world's main shipping lines, so ships will not have to make a detour, and thus will save time and money," explains Sadeq.
The new harbour will cover a total area of 220 square kilometres. It includes a central harbour extending along the Suez Canal Tafri'a (branch) for about 11km. A duty-free industrial zone will also be established to the south on an area of about 88 square kilometres. A contiguous area will serve as an international administrative zone. Another site will be developed for tourism on the coast. The remaining 100km will be given over to fisheries.
"Preliminary studies show the possibility of creating 200,000 jobs and consequently moving a large number of people, about 600,000 in all, out of the densely populated Delta and Nile Valley," Sadeq points out.
The first phase, which will include the harbour and the industrial zone, will cost LE3 billion. The state will finance the infrastructure and the central port, which will take about two years to complete. The whole project will cost LE6 billion, and will be completed in a further five years.
Three iron and steel factories have already been built in the industrial area, and reducing pollution in the area is a paramount concern. Sadeq underlines that environmental studies must be submitted by every factory owner to ensure that environmentally-friendly practices are being followed.
Port Said became a free zone in 1976, and was dubbed by many "the lucky city". Still, many of its inhabitants, once prosperous traders, have felt the pinch of late. Hamed El-Shennawi, a prominent businessman and member of the People's Assembly, complains that the city's fortunes have been declining. "Port Said was exposed to a very special situation. This small, relatively new city witnessed several wars. Its inhabitants left and returned in waves: the 1956 War, the 1967 War, the return in 1975..."
Empires on the water: on the shores of Lake Timsah, June 1956, Bawwabat Al-Amal (Hope's Gate) may not look like much yet, but as part of the East Port Said project, it is designed to lead the country into the 21st century, "Down with De Lesseps" -- Egyptians express their anger at the Tripartite Aggression by tearing down the statue of the man who masterminded the Suez Canal photos: Al-Ahram
During the '70s, many development projects were implemented throughout the country, but El-Shennawi feels that Port Said did not receive its share of the benefits. "One of the privileges Port Said has been deprived of is the establishment of a university. When we returned in 1975, most of the inhabitants, including engineers, physicians, teachers and those working in tourism, sought more profitable employment in the free zone. They paid no attention to other fields, however," he says.
Tourism, notably, has not received as much attention as it could have. "Now there are plans for Tannis, which was the capital under Ramses II," explains El-Shennawi. "It is the third largest antiquities site in Egypt. In this area there are about 15 obelisks and two statues of Ramses II, one of which resembles that in Ramses Square. It is also one of the places the Holy Family passed through on their journey from Palestine to Egypt."
A French archaeological mission is currently carrying out excavation work in Tannis. A budget of LE11 million has been allocated to pave roads in the area, to provide other basic amenities and to build hotels. A two-kilometre walkway is also being planned along the Canal.
One of the biggest attractions in Port Said is the statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps -- well, it would have been were it still standing on its pedestal on the Canal Corniche. Only the pedestal remains, however; in an outburst of nationalist sentiment after the Tripartite Aggression of 1956, the inhabitants of the city tore down what they perceived as a symbol of imperialism. The statue is now kept in one of the Suez Canal Authority's warehouses. Its broken arm was recently repaired by French experts.
"It is a controversial issue, whether to return the statue or keep it in storage. Some are calling for its return, since they consider De Lesseps a part of our history, regardless of his nationality. After all, he initiated the digging of the Suez Canal and hence the establishment of Port Said. Others believe only the pedestal should remain, in testimony to the inhabitants' opposition to foreign aggression," El-Shennawi sighs.
Other issues Port Said will have to confront are related to Egypt's application of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the city's concomitant loss of its privileged status as a duty-free zone.
El-Shennawi, however, is among those who argue that freeing trade completely is impossible. "There will always be some sort of protection for national products to protect against dumping. There will be tax incentives in the free area that make up about 45 per cent of the real cost of the products," he explains.
As a duty-free zone, Port Said has its own problems with import and export laws. The decreased popularity of many domestically manufactured goods, such as clothing, is often blamed on the ready availability of cheap imported items in Port Said. "Imports to Port Said represent only a fraction of the value of locally manufactured goods. Besides, Port Said acquaints the public with the latest international fashions," El-Shennawi notes. Besides, he argues, the influence of large industrialists outweighs that of traders benefiting from duty-free facilities.
AT A CABINET meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri met with officials and investors to review a report on the progress of the Port Said mega-project. The report showed that international tenders have been presented for the central port including the passageway, the first quay and the container station. An international company won the tender for the passageway, valued at $220 million.The deadline for offers on the quay is 6 May. On 12 April, the tenders for the container station will be opened.
Last Thursday, a 60-megawatt electricity station began operating. The report also noted that in 18 months an iron smelter that is the fifth of its kind in the world will start operating, using the latest technology. The factory's capacity will reach a million tons annually before 2001.
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