 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Protecting the environment
NEW MEASURES have been promised to ensure that small industrial enterprises springing up near heavy industry zones do not pollute the environment. Sherine Nasr reports
Akrasha, an industrial zone in Al-Khanka, east of Cairo in the governorate of Qalyoubiya, is one such area. It has become host to small factories which were moved from the nearby industrial district Shubra Al-Kheima.
"We burn four to five tons of coal every day to smelt metals," said a worker at one of the workshops.
In an impromptu tour of the area, State Minister for Environmental Affairs Nadia Makram Ebeid, accompanied by Governor of Qalyoubiya Adli Hussein, criticised the absence of minimal environmental protection measures, but promised assistance to improve the situation."We will extend technical as well as financial facilities to these industries, in accordance with the needs of each, so as to avoid the negative impact on the surrounding areas," said Ebeid.
With essential infrastructure in place, namely, electricity, telephone lines and a natural gas pipeline passing nearby, "the area could be a major industrial area with great potential," said Hussein, adding that Al-Khanka has a strategic location amidst the industrial complexes of Shubra Al-Kheima, Mustorod and Ain Shams.
