After Beirut Blaze, Egypt is getting rid of dangerous substances at ports: minister

CAIRO – 19 August 2020: Minister of Transportation Kamel al-Wazir stated in a phone-in Tuesday that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi had asked him about the status of Egyptian ports after the explosion of Beirut Port.

Wazir's answer was affirming the presence of abandoned substances that can be dangerous like fireworks and that the ministry is getting rid of them. The ports also receive substances used as input in the production process of certain products, and that are dangerous by nature like ammonia. However, those are handled by several specialized entities.

The president instructed clearing ports of dangerous substances, building concrete fences around the warehouses, substituting inadequate warehouses with new ones, and securing them very well.  

The prime minister ordered the formation of committees that would carry out a screening of ports to determine the presence dangerous substances.

Commenting on the capsizing of a ferry in Beheira governorate and the drowning of 5 individuals, the minister revealed that the president ordered substituting ferries with 15 bridges crossing over the Nile River at a cost of LE1.5 billion. Those will serve the dwellers of the villages of the governorate.

The ferry is privately owned, and the accident occurred because the operator allowed a truck on board. In spite of the presence of a bridge at a further distance, the truck's driver wanted to save time endangering the lives of pedestrians and drivers of small vehicles who were on board.