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Al-Ahram Weekly 19 - 25 August 1999 Issue No. 443 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 19 - 25 August 1999 Issue No. 443
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The cat and the louse
By Salama Ahmed Salama
The volume of investments, vast number of industrial firms and sheer size of its labour force make 10 Ramadan City one of the most important landmarks on Egypt's map of industrial development. The government has supplied it with facilities and granted it incentives. The city was conceived as a model of industrial planning capable of accommodating giant firms, but also as a model of civilization, to be replicated throughout the country.
I was therefore shocked by a recent account of the environmental conditions prevailing in 10 Ramadan City. The report I read highlights the gap between the environmental awareness of Egyptian investors operating in the city and environmental awareness in the developed industrial world. A large number of industries have failed to take into account environmental standards that are now commonly applied worldwide. These standards cannot be ignored if industrialists hope to compete with foreign industries and target export markets.
One look at 10 Ramadan City's productive capacity is enough to reveal the dangers of the city becoming a source of severe pollution if matters get out of hand. Violations of environmental laws and decrees continue despite frequent visits by the minister of the environment. A series of meetings has also been held to persuade investors to abide by environmental standards and to set a timetable for compliance with the Environment Law.
The green belt along the road to Ismailiya and the row of elegant buildings are all that appears of 10 Ramadan City from the road. But the city proper holds some 917 industrial firms. Most of these have no sound means to dispose of waste; perhaps those who run them are unaware that pollutants can be dangerous to the health of the workers and the residents of the entire area (only a few kilometres away of the rapidly expanding capital). A large percentage of managers are either ignorant or refuse to introduce industrial safety measures.
With investments of LE15 billion, production capacity valued at LE13.5 billion, and a work force estimated at 20,000, 10 Ramadan City accounts for some 20 per cent of Egypt's total exports and is the hub of the largest and most environmentally unfriendly industries in the country: building materials, cement, marble and ceramics.
Small industries, which employ a maximum work force of 50 and which constitute the majority of firms in the city, have been exempted by the state from the requirements of industrial safety and professional security. In addition, industries including steel foundries, chemical plants and pharmaceutical industries all produce dangerous waste. The plastics industry, the most polluting in the world because its waste can neither be recycled nor disposed of safely, is also located in the city.
Because some firms in 10 Ramadan City were established before we had become aware of environmental problems and before the relevant legislation was passed, they were given a delay to enter into compliance with the new standards. But amazingly, industrialists seem ignorant of their own interests. They are still playing games to avoid implementing the law -- for example, closing their firms on the day of the minister's visit or during inspection tours carried out by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency.
Playing at cat and mouse by banking on their connections may save businessmen the trouble of reducing pollution and recycling waste. Ultimately, however, it is proof only of their ignorance. On the other side of the coin, if officials look upon such offences with a lenient eye and exempt some firms from compliance with the Environment Law, 10 Ramadan City will soon be a disaster on the scale of Helwan.
Those who think profit is more important than the environment will think again when their products are rejected by importers all over the world.
