Ownership banned in Suez Canal region project

A senior Egyptian official has said that a legal framework banning all property ownership in the Suez Canal region would be presented to the government with days.

Walid Abdel Ghaffar, an adviser to the transportation minister told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the new draft law, prepared by legal experts, bans all investors from land ownership, Egyptian and foreign, as the region will be under a usufruct system only.
Abdel Ghaffar also said that no property within the project area will be sold and that all land there will continue to be state property.



Investors will be able to rent land under the usufruct system, and all offers will be studied within the law, except those that infringe on national security.
He added that investors would be dealt with through a "one-window" system to avoid bureaucracy, and that the state would also establish a special body to manage the region's projects.

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Historical Timeline of Sinai Part 3

The Arab Conquest of Egypt

Salah El Din El Ayoubi (Saladin)

The Suez Canal

In 1831 Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-94) came to Cairo as a young consular student, and there had his attention called to Lepere’s memoire regarding the scheme of connecting the two seas, which led him to consider its great importance in spite of Lepere’s doubts as to its feasibility. In 1838 he made the acquaintance of Lieut. Waghorn, whose zealous advocacy of the establishment of a route between Europe and India via Egypt stimulated his zeal for a similar project. In 1841 and 1847 Linant Bey and Robert Stephenson, Alois von Negrelli, the Austrian, and Bourdaloue, the Frenchman, demonstrated the inaccuracy of Lepere’s calculations. In 1854 De Lesseps, having matured his plan, laid it before Said Pasha, who was the viceroy and determined to carry it out. Difficulties were thrown in the way of the enterprise by the British government during Lord Palmerstons ministry, but on Jan. 5th 1856, permission to begin the work was formally granted by the viceroy. A considerable time, however, elapsed before the necessary capital was raised, and it was not till April 25th 1859, that the work was actually begun. The viceroy undertook to pay many of the current expenses and provided 25,000 workmen, who were to be paid and fed by the company at an inexpensive rate and were to be relieved every three months.

On March 18th 1869, the water of the Mediterranean was at length allowed to flow into the nearly dry, salt encrusted basins of the Bitter Lakes, the northern part of which lay 26-40 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean, while the southern parts required extensive dredging operations. The opening of the Suez Canal was inaugurated on Nov. 17th 1869, with magnificent festivities in the presence of the Empress Eugenie and many European princes. 100,000 Egyptian workmen lost their lives during the undertaking.

Said also gave De Lesseps a number of undertakings about the supply of labour and purchase of shares which were to be financially disastrous for Egypt. The British government pressed the Ottoman Sultan to invalidate the concession obtained by De Lesseps from Said Pasha which entitled the Universal Suez Canal Company to dig the canal and operate it for 99 years (largely because it was under French direction) and a new concession had to be obtained in 1856. Ismail tried to modify the concession when he came to power in 1863, placing more responsibility on the company to provide the labour promised by Said. In the end Egypt paid almost 70 % of the 19 million sterling pounds cost of the canal and received 15 % of its profits.

In 1875, Lord Beaconsfeld, on behalf of the British Government, acquired 176,602 of the Khedives shares for a sum of 4,080,000 pounds sterling and nearly one half of the shares became in British hands. Up to its nationalisation in July 1956 by President Gamal Abdelnasser, the canal used to belong to the Suez Canal Co. (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez), founded in 1854, which possessed also lands, buildings, and other properties, valued in 1929 at nearly 3,000,000 pounds sterling. Its concession should have expired in 1968. It was replaced by the Suez Canal Authority in 1957.

Sinai سينا

Sinai Peninsula

 

 

Map of the Sinai Peninsula with country borders shown.

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (Egyptian Arabic: سينا sina; Arabic: سيناء‎ sina'a; Hebrew סיני) is a triangular peninsula in Egypt which is about 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi).

It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between the two continents. In addition to its formal name, Egyptians also refer to it affectionately as the "Land of Fayrouz", based on the Ancient Egyptian "Dumafkat", which has the same meaning. The peninsula is currently controlled by Egypt, which has divided the region into two Egyptian governorates, and contains a population of approximately 1.3 million people.


The region has historically been the center of conflict between various political factions, based largely on its strategic geopolitical location. In addition to periods of direct rule by Egyptian governments (including the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, and the modern Egyptian republic), like the rest of Egypt, it was also occupied and controlled by the Ottoman, and British empires. Israel invaded and occupied Sinai twice during the 20th Century, first during the Suez War of 1956, and secondly during and after the Six Day War of 1967. In the October War of 1973, it was the location of fierce fighting between Egyptian, and occupying Israeli forces.

History

Sinai was inhabited by the Monitu and was called Mafkat or Country of Turquoise. From the time of the First dynasty or before, the Egyptians mined turquoise in Sinai at two locations, now called by their Arabic names Wadi Maghareh and Serabit el-Khadim. The mines were worked intermittently and on a seasonal basis for thousands of years. Modern attempts to exploit the deposits have been unprofitable.

These may be the first known mines.
The peninsula was governed as part of Egypt under the Mamluk Sultanate from 1260 until 1517, when the Ottoman Sultan, Selim the Grim, destroyed the Mamluks at the Battles of Marj Dabiq and al-Raydaniyya. From then until 1906, Sinai was administered by Ottoman provincial government of the Pashalik of Egypt, even following the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty's rule over the rest of Egypt in 1805. In 1906, the Ottoman Porte formally transferred administration of Sinai to the Egyptian Government, which essentially meant that it fell under the control of the United Kingdom, who had occupied and largely controlled Egypt since 1882.

The border imposed by the British runs in an almost straight line from Rafah on the Mediterranean shore to Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba. This line has served as the eastern border of Egypt ever since.


At the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egyptian forces entered the former British Mandate of Palestine from Sinai to support Palestinian and other Arab forces against the newly declared State of Israel. For a period during the war, Israeli forces entered the north-eastern corner of Sinai. With the exception of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, which came under the administration of the All-Palestine Government, the western frontier of the former Mandate of Palestine became the Egyptian-Israeli frontier under the 1949 Armistice Agreement.


In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal on the western side of the Sinai Peninsula and also used its control of the eastern side to impose a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat. Following this, Israeli forces, aided by Britain, and France (which sought to reverse the nationalization and regain control over the Suez Canal), invaded Sinai and took control of much of the peninsula within a few days (see Suez Crisis). Several months later Israel withdrew its forces from Sinai, following strong pressure from the United States, and the Soviet Union. Following this the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was stationed in Sinai to prevent any military occupation of the Sinai.


In 1967, Egypt reinforced its military presence in Sinai, renewed the blockade on Eilat, and on May 16 ordered the UNEF out of Sinai with immediate effect. Secretary-General U Thant eventually complied and ordered the withdrawal without Security Council authorization. Subsequent to Egyptian actions, Israel invaded Sinai, commencing the Six-Day War in which the Egyptian army was defeated, and Israel captured and occupied the entire peninsula. The Suez Canal, the east bank of which was now controlled by Israel, was closed.

In the October War of 1973, Egyptian engineering forces built pontoon bridges to cross the Suez Canal, and stormed the supposedly impregnable Bar-Lev Line while many Israeli soldiers were observing the holiday Yom Kippur. Though the Egyptians maintained control of most of the east bank of the Canal, in the later stages of the war, the Israeli military crossed the southern section of Canal, cutting off the Egyptian 3rd Army, and occupied a section of the west bank. After the war, as part of the subsequent Sinai Disengagement Agreements, Israel withdrew from the Canal, with Egypt's agreeing to permit passage of Israeli ships.

In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of Sinai. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending in 1982. The Israeli pull-out involved dismantling almost all Israeli settlements, including the town of Yamit in north-eastern Sinai. The exception was Ofira, which became the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. The Treaty allows monitoring of the Sinai by the Multinational Force and Observers and limits the number of Egyptian military forces in the Peninsula.

 

 

Present

The Sinai Peninsula is currently divided among two Egyptian governorates, or provinces. The southern portion of the Sinai is called Ganub Sina in Arabic, literally "South of Sinai"; the northern portion is named Shamal Sina', or "North of Sinai". The other three governates converge on the Suez Canal, including el-Sewais, literally "the Suez"; on its southern end and crosses into African Egypt. In the center is el-Isma'ileyyah, and Port Said lies in the north with its capital at Port Said.


Approximately 66,500 people live in Ganub Sina and 314,000 live in Shamal Sina'. Port Said itself has a population of roughly 500,000 people. Portions of the populations of el-Isma'ileyyah and el-Suweis live in Sinai, while the rest live on the western side of the Suez Canal in Egypt-proper. The combined population of these two governorates is roughly 1.3 million (only a part of that population live in the Sinai, while the rest live on the western side of the Suez Canal). Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinai's cities and towns reach −16°C.


Over the past 30 years the Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its natural setting, rich coral reefs, and biblical history. Large numbers of Egyptians from the Nile Valley and Delta have moved to the area to work in tourism, while at the same time development has robbed native Bedouin of their grazing land and fishing grounds. This clash of cultures has resulted in the Sinai becoming the site of several terrorist attacks targeting not only Westerners, and Israelis, but also Egyptians on holiday and working in tourism.


In order to help alleviate the problems faced by the Sinai Bedouin due to mass tourism, various NGOs have begun to operate in the region including the Makhad Trust, a UK charity who assist the Bedouin in developing a sustainable income whilst protecting Sinai's natural environment, heritage and culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinai

Suez Canal Pollution

Suez Canal sees growing environment problems

28 September 2009

CAIRO: Over the past four months, the waters of the Suez Canal have witnessed 10 environmental violations that have seen more than 30 million Egyptian pounds ($5.25 million) lost, damaged coral reefs and fishers and is affecting the tourism boom in Egypt, the Suez Canal Authority said. The authority reported this week that pollution is becoming a growing problem for the canal as oil tanker accidents have put the waters in danger.

The latest incident was the sinking of Panamanian ship “Elly,” which is now at the bottom of the basin area of Al Adabbiya near the city of Suez. An estimated 60 thousand tons of diesel fule have leaked from the ship and environmental organizations are now crying foul.

The authority said in statements carried in local newspaper that much of the damage to the area is the result of “delinquency.”

The waterway of the Suez Canal is one of the narrower shipping lanes dedicated to the passage of ships and supertankers. The Egyptian government says that as a result, any petroleum contamination is detrimental to the impact on the surrounding water and the effects of such negligence spreads rapidly because of the high-speed marine currents, which helps the spread of oil spills for long distances, which results in affecting other places than the initial incident itself.

An official source at the Suez Canal Authority stressed that the pollution problem remains at the top of a list of problems that impede the process of aquaculture development in the canal zone, which leads to the deterioration of fish production, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The authority pointed to the latest research and confirmed the “vulnerability of agricultural drainage water owing to the dumping of 3.5 million tons of fertilizer and 20 thousand tons of pesticides as well as the industrial waste.”

The official also said that the high value of the feed for animals is one the constraints that results from fish farming. He added that farmers use “conventional feed, livestock feed, or mixtures innovated by farmers, leading to low quality of fish,” stressing that evidence of pollution is on the surface, “but there are remains of pollutants in the place of fish, which leads to the destruction of the food chain, starting from marine plants and even large fish, leading to the lack of fish production.”

An earlier report by the Central Auditing Agency of Ismailia Governorate, also revealed that the sewage and drainage, loaded with all kinds of pesticides, chemicals and hormones are being deposited in the waterways of the Suez Canal and which represent the main sources of fishing conservation. The report added that this area is surrounded by Ismailia beaches and is leading to “wasting huge quantities of water … an estimated 3 million cubic meters per day.”

The report says that in Ismailia all prohibited and non-prohibited pesticides, seeds, chemicals and hormones are used whether its sources were known or not, “although these materials seep into the groundwater flowing through agricultural banks in the waterway of the canal.”

These 10 violations and oil pollution that has been reported in recent months have left government agencies in a frenzy. The Egyptian Environmental Action Agency told Bikya Masr in a phone conversation that “we are working diligently to clean up the area and are calling on all companies with a role in the Canal and Red Sea to take immediate action.”

The question is, will they be able to resolve the environmental impacts before it is too late?

Bikya Misr

http://bikyamasr.com/?p=2796