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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 Apr. - 5 May 1999 Issue No. 427 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 Apr. - 5 May 1999 Issue No. 427
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Focus Special Travel Sports People Features Living Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Greening Sadat City
by Sherine NasrIn Sadat City, north of Cairo, investors are working closely with the Dutch government and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) to transform the city into an environmentally-friendly place by the end of the year 2000.
"Environmental considerations have grown more significant. We have defined the problems, and we know we need technology transfer," said Nadia Makram Ebeid, the state minister for environmental affairs. That is why the Egyptian-Dutch partnership to achieve a more effective environmental management of Sadat City is so important.
In order to become an environmentally-friendly city, Sadat City has to meet certain criteria set by the law on the environment issued in 1994. The city wastes have to be non-hazardous, it has to meet ambient noise and air quality standards and have an environmental monitoring scheme. "Until recently, Sadat City met none of these criteria," said Ahmed Hamza, senior adviser to the ministry.
"It was essential to create a solid database to know exactly where we stand. The Dutch experience was so valuable in this field," said Ahmed Ezz, chairman of El-Sadat Investors' Association.
Constructed in 1986, Sadat City now contains 155 plants whose investments are estimated at almost eight billion pounds. The major activities are engineering, chemical and food industries, textiles, construction materials and metals. The city is expected to further expand as there are 100 new plants still under construction.
"A hundred and forty four plants have already been assessed by the ministry," said Hamza, who added that 59 of these were found to discharge wastewater into the local sewage system without any treatment, causing considerable damage. "Seventeen of these plants have top priority for the application of a wastewater management plan. Moreover, there are 16 plants with major air pollution problems, and seven others have to acquire a safe system for disposal of their hazardous wastes."
Minister Ebeid during her meeting with members of El-Sadat Investors Association
To prepare to apply an environmental action plan in Sadat City, a number of investors from the community went on site visits to major Dutch companies with similar problems but more impressive solutions. "The visits were very useful because the solutions provided by these Dutch companies to handle their environmental problems were both pragmatic and cost effective," said Ahmed Ezz. With the help of the Dutch government, El-Sadat Investors' Association conducted some 25 studies for different plants to underline the main problems and suggest solutions.
It was clear that it would not be possible for each company to work alone. "First, they lack the technical support and secondly, pollution abatement techniques are very costly for each plant to apply individually," said Wael El-Shennawi, chief assistant to the association's chairman. "It has been a top priority to apply doable and cost-effective solutions," said El-Shennawi, adding that combined efforts among different plants is the best way to do the job.
"At present, we are in the process of operating a major wastewater treatment facility at a cost of three million pounds to serve six plants in the city. The facility is equipped to operate at double this capacity in the future," said El-Shennawi. If each of the six had installed its own wastewater facility, it would have cost every one of them an average of two million pounds.
