{"id":16892,"date":"2026-01-12T17:59:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T15:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=16892"},"modified":"2026-10-24T17:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T15:50:27","slug":"cement-factories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/cement-factories\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt\u2019s Cement Industry: Chronic Pollution and Environmental Justice Delayed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After ten full years of arduous litigation, and nearly a year and a half after a final and conclusive court ruling was issued, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/eipr.org\/press\/2025\/12\/%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AF%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B6%D9%8B%D8%A7-%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, at the end of last December, the enforcement of a compensation ruling worth one million Egyptian pounds in favour of citizen Hany Abdel Fattah Abu Aqil and his son, for the health and environmental damage resulting from the emissions of the Portland Cement (Titan) factory in the Wadi El-Qamar area, west of Alexandria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ruling, issued in April 2024, was not implemented voluntarily; rather, it faced systematic<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/eipr.org\/press\/2024\/08\/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%B9-100-%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%87-%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B0-%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B6-%D8%A5%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%89\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stalling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the company, which took the form of filing repeated legal objections to enforcement and appeals, in an attempt to obstruct enforcement and delay payment. However, legal persistence and follow-up by rights advocates eventually forced the company to comply and to pay the full amount of the compensation on 16 December last.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This case, which rights advocates have described as one of the rarest rulings recognising the responsibility of a major industrial company for direct environmental damage to residents, does not represent an individual victory so much as it reveals a broader model of a prolonged environmental conflict in Egypt, where millions of citizens live in direct contact with cement factories, amid a severe overlap between heavy production zones and residential blocks, and an effective absence of the concept of &#8220;buffer zones&#8221; or of environmental justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-4CVmp\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Geographical distribution of cement factories\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/4CVmp\/1\/\" height=\"705\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Symbol map\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Wadi El-Qamar, as in Helwan, Beni Suef and parts of the Delta, pollution is no longer a theoretical issue or a technical debate about environmental standards, but a daily reality that imposes itself on the details of life. The residents of the area have documented, over the years, a marked increase in flying dust, dense emissions of fine particles and a continuous deterioration in air quality, accompanied by growing complaints of respiratory diseases, asthma and chest allergies, and even chronic diseases and cancers in some cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights affirms that the ruling issued in the Wadi El-Qamar case<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/eipr.org\/press\/2025\/12\/%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AF%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B6%D9%8B%D8%A7-%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was based<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on technical reports and environmental measurements that showed serious breaches of the safe limits for emissions, constituting a violation of the residents&#8217; rights to health and physical safety, which are enshrined in the Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Recommended reading:<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/labor-2\/\"> <b>Three Oversight Bodies and Zero Protection: The Equation of Workers&#8217; Deaths in Egyptian Factories<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h1><b><br \/>\nHelwan\u2026 Pollution in the Heart of the Residential Area<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Helwan, south of Cairo, the crisis takes on a more complex dimension, as cement factories are spread inside or alongside crowded residential areas. Abeer Abu Hassan, who has lived for more than twenty years near one of these factories, describes her daily life as &#8220;an open battle with dust&#8221;. She tells Zawia3: &#8220;Every morning, thick white dust covers everything: the cars, the windows, the roofs, and even the food if it is left uncovered for a few minutes. My children suffer from a constant cough and difficulty breathing, and one of them was diagnosed with asthma two years ago.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She adds that the doctors told her that the fine particles emitted from the factory cause chronic lung inflammation, noting that she has heard of cases of lung cancer among the neighbours, and explaining: &#8220;We wash the clothes every day, but the dust comes back immediately. The government promised improvements, but nothing has changed. The factories work 24 hours a day, and with the use of coal the situation has become worse.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her neighbour, Hajj Tarek Abdel Haq, links the pollution to an all-round deterioration of the surrounding environment: &#8220;The soil is polluted to the point that plants do not grow as they should, and the water is sometimes cloudy because of the sediment. My brother worked for years in one of the factories, and he now suffers from chronic respiratory problems and lost his job because of the illness. We file complaints, but the answer is always: we will investigate.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Alexandria, Mohamed Ismail expresses cautious optimism about the compensation ruling issued in Wadi El-Qamar, but he stresses that the daily suffering has not stopped. He explains: &#8220;My son, who is eight years old, suffers from severe asthma because of the dust coming from the Portland Cement (Titan) factory. Every morning we find a white layer on the floors and the furniture, and the air is full of particles that cause inflammation.&#8221; He adds that other families in the area have filed lawsuits that have not yet been decided, pinning his hopes on the latest ruling opening the door to wider accountability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For her part, Radwa Abdel Qawy, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, explains that the rulings issued in the Wadi El-Qamar case do not concern a single ruling or only one of the residents, but a series of independent cases. She points out that there are four compensation lawsuits in which final rulings were issued, with different amounts, including compensation of one million pounds for one citizen and EGP 750,000 for another citizen, in addition to EGP 200,000 and EGP 120,000 in two separate cases, which reflects the judiciary&#8217;s recognition of the scale of the damage suffered by more than one of those affected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She traces the beginning of these cases back to early 2015, stressing that it was a new and arduous experience from its first day, not only from a legal point of view but also at the community level. &#8220;At the beginning, no one imagined that these cases could lead to any real result,&#8221; she says, noting that doubt prevailed even among those affected themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radwa describes what she faced while submitting official complaints to the Ministry of Environment as part of the challenge, as it was clear, according to her account, that some employees were astonished by the mere idea of a female lawyer filing complaints against a large factory or requesting a field inspection. She adds that convincing the competent authorities of the idea of the complaint itself, and that there was environmental damage requiring inspection and investigation, was not easy, given a prevailing perception that &#8220;no one dares to complain about a company&#8221;, or to claim to have been harmed by environmental pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She stresses that the course of the cases stretched over nearly 11 years, marked by real fears among the residents, noting that some of the residents were hesitant at first because of previous experiences, as the company had accused a number of residents, before they became involved in these cases, of incidents such as unlawful assembly or thuggery, which created a climate of fear and anxiety about any legal action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rights lawyer points out that the residents had tried, at earlier stages, to turn to members of the People&#8217;s Assembly and to the media, but they later felt, according to their testimonies, that they were not receiving real support, and that their cause was instead being exploited politically or in the media without tangible results. Hence, she considers that their decision to begin serious litigation was a decisive and important step in the course of the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radwa considers that the first real breakthrough was achieved at the level of the Public Prosecution, which showed clear sympathy with the residents&#8217; complaints. She recounts that one of the prosecutors was a believer in the prosecution&#8217;s role in establishing the facts, and did not settle for the papers, but went down to the site of the damage himself and saw with his own eyes the effects of the pollution, such as the blackness accumulated on the walls of the houses, the death of animals, and other direct evidence of the scale of the environmental violation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She explains that the subsequent steps were no less difficult, especially since obtaining a criminal ruling against the factory was a rare precedent, and perhaps the first of its kind against a factory of this type. She describes this stage as &#8220;success granted by God&#8221;, but stresses at the same time that it was the fruit of long and arduous effort. After the criminal ruling was issued, a new and more complicated stage began, consisting of filing compensation lawsuits, which took further years of legal dispute, but ended with results that she considers worth all this trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking about the human impact, she stresses that environmental pollution is not merely a legal violation, but &#8220;a real disaster&#8221;, because it destroys the lives of many people and deprives them of the most basic of their rights, which is breathing clean, unpolluted air. She points out that all the residents of Wadi El-Qamar suffer from respiratory diseases, and that some of them have contracted serious diseases, including cancer, as a result of continuous exposure to pollutants, stressing that environmental damage cannot be confined to a particular group, because the environment by its nature includes everyone. &#8220;Even those who are not directly exposed to inhaling the fumes are affected in one way or another,&#8221; she says, considering that the effect of pollution extends to circles much wider than is imagined, which makes these cases a matter of public right, and not merely an individual dispute.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n<h1><b>A Widespread Industry\u2026 and Heavy Emissions<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to recent<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cementchina.net\/news\/content\/50591367685725001.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the number of cement factories in Egypt stands at about 24 main factories, with<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Aboutmsr\/posts\/%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D8%B1%D8%AE%D8%B5%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%84-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85-2025-%D8%A8%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9\/1160909956135859\/?locale=ar_AR\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plans<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to add two new factories with a production capacity of between 1.5 and 2 million tonnes per year each. Total production capacity reaches about 87 million tonnes per year, with expected growth of 8.1% bringing the market<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/asharqbusiness.com\/economics\/102133\/%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B2%D9%85-%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D8%B1%D8%AE%D8%B5%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%84-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">size<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to $3.92 billion. The geographical<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/asharqbusiness.com\/economics\/88648\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%87-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B5-%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA\/#:~:text=%D9%8A%D9%8F%D8%B0%D9%83%D8%B1%20%D8%A3%D9%86%20%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%20%D8%AA%D8%B6%D9%85%20%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%88,%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D9%85%D9%86%202024.\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">distribution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of these factories is concentrated in the governorates of the Valley and the Delta, near the major population centres, which multiplies the risks of pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Egypt is one of the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/impactpolicies.org\/news\/232\/businesses-the-state-and-their-responsibility-towards-environmental-protection-in-egypt\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">largest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cement producers in the Middle East, and the sector has seen notable expansion since 2014, when the government<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legal-agenda.com\/%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AD%D9%85\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">allowed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the use of coal and petcoke as an alternative fuel to deal with the energy crisis, a decision that led to an increase in emissions of about 15% per tonne of cement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.almasdar.com\/152596\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development indicate that the cement industry accounts globally for between 8% and 10% of carbon dioxide emissions. In Egypt, emissions<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/followict.news\/%D8%B5%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%A7\/#:~:text=%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%AE%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%B7%20%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%82,%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AF%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%86%20%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%88%20130%20%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%81%20%D8%B7%D9%86\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">exceed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the global average because of the heavy reliance on fossil fuels, as the industry produces between 750 and 800 kilograms of carbon dioxide per tonne of cement, compared with about 620 kilograms globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-l5EFA\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Egypt compared with the global average\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/l5EFA\/1\/\" height=\"490\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Column Chart\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The total<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebrd.com\/content\/dam\/ebrd_dxp\/assets\/pdfs\/green\/knowledge-hub\/Low-Carbon%20roadmap%20for%20the%20cement%20sector%20in%20Egypt.pdf\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">emissions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the cement industry in Egypt are estimated at about 66\u201376 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, in addition to huge quantities of fine particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, nitrogen and sulphur oxides, mercury and vanadium.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The pollution produced by cement factories is not limited to the air alone. Environmental studies conducted in south Cairo<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/15092234\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">revealed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that a single factory can cause widespread pollution with vanadium, a toxic element linked to fossil fuels, in the air, water, soil and plants, with levels far higher than those recorded in unpolluted areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Cairo, which<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arij.net\/coal_dust\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ranked<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 13th in the world for air pollution in 2021, cement and brick factories contribute a large share of fine particles, as pollution levels in some areas reach between 10 and 100 times global standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For his part, environmental lawyer Ahmed El-Saidi says that the legal battle waged by civil society succeeded, at an earlier stage, in subjecting the use of coal inside cement factories to strict environmental requirements and standards close to European standards, whether in terms of inspection, emission rates or monitoring mechanisms, explaining that these efforts resulted in the establishment of a respectable regulatory framework for the use of coal as an alternative fuel, which reassured people at first, especially with the talk of the companies&#8217; commitment to international standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But, according to El-Saidi, the current reality reflects a completely different picture, as &#8220;cement companies brush these requirements aside and do not respect them at all&#8221;, which is confirmed, as he puts it, by the high emission rates and the repeated violations proven against a large number of companies. He adds that some factories that are not located directly next to residential areas exploit this situation to increase their emissions even further, amid the periodic renewal of coal-use permits without the slightest regard for the environmental record or the scale of previous violations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El-Saidi points out that among the most important requirements approved previously was an explicit provision that coal may not be used in the cement industry near residential areas. &#8220;But, most unfortunately,&#8221; he says, &#8220;these requirements were amended, in parallel with the amendment of the Environment Law and its executive regulations, in which these standards had been included for the first time in 2015.&#8221; As a result of this amendment, there is no longer a clear ban on establishing cement factories or using coal next to residential blocks; rather, the provisions were circumvented in a way that allows this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El-Saidi describes this amendment as &#8220;a real disaster&#8221;, asking: &#8220;I do not understand how this amendment passed, nor how it did not provoke a wide public debate.&#8221; He believes that the fundamental problem lies in the definition of the &#8220;residential zone&#8221; itself, since the new Building Law does not recognise, in the first place, a large number of informal or unplanned areas, such as areas like Wadi El-Qamar, which are not recognised by the New Urban Communities Authority or by the local units responsible for preparing plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to El-Saidi, the aim of this narrow legal definition of the residential zone was not to protect people or their health, but &#8220;to serve the companies, and nothing else&#8221;, which explicitly contradicts the constitutional right to a healthy and sound environment, enshrined in Article 46 of the Egyptian Constitution. Hence, El-Saidi considers that the amendment of these standards, together with the cement companies&#8217; failure to comply with environmental requirements, constitutes a clear violation of both the law and the Constitution, particularly with regard to the use of coal and the dangerous emissions that result from it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He stresses that the use of coal, by its nature, leads to serious and dangerous emissions, and that citizens&#8217; acceptance of it was conditional on the existence of strict European standards guaranteeing the reduction of these emissions. &#8220;But the problem is that these standards are not actually applied,&#8221; El-Saidi says, considering this point extremely important, especially in light of the huge international grants, which may reach billions, that Egypt has obtained over the past five years, earmarked for reducing harmful emissions, particularly in residential areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El-Saidi asks: &#8220;If Egypt has obtained all these grants, whether from the United Nations or from international environmental organisations, with the aim of reducing the emissions of cement factories or of factories that use coal as fuel, has the government, in return, committed to implementing the requirements and standards linked to these grants?&#8221; In his view, the clear answer is that the commitment was not at the required level.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Air pollution in Egypt is estimated to have<a href=\"https:\/\/aps.aucegypt.edu\/ar\/articles\/767\/the-social-impact-of-air-pollution-in-egypt-the-contradictions-of-environmental-policy-in-egypt\"> caused<\/a> about 90,000 premature deaths in 2019, with an upward trend in the following years. In 2017, the number of premature deaths linked to air pollution reached 19,200, in addition to more than 3 billion sick annually as a result of respiratory and heart diseases.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-tq2Wv\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Premature deaths linked to air pollution in Egypt\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/tq2Wv\/1\/\" height=\"542\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Area Chart\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In Cairo alone, air pollution<a href=\"https:\/\/arsco.org\/articles\/article-detail-16360\/\"> causes<\/a> about 18,000 premature deaths annually, equivalent to 16% of total deaths, as well as thousands of other cases of illness, which makes pollution one of the biggest causes of the health burden in the country. Economically, the cost of the pollution produced by the cement industry is estimated at about EGP 47 billion annually, equivalent to 1.4% of gross domestic product.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El-Saidi points out that the government has, in recent years, taken steps that cannot be denied, including establishing environmental monitoring mechanisms and linking them to modern technological systems that allow emissions to be monitored in real time. But he stresses that the practical reality, as revealed by the lawsuits that have been filed, points to an increase in violations, not a decline. He adds that violating companies often settle for paying the fines stipulated in Egyptian law, regarding them as an &#8220;operating cost&#8221;, given the length of litigation, which can extend to five or ten years, allowing them to make huge profits before any final rulings are issued.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El-Saidi points out that the slowness of litigation in environmental cases is not a purely Egyptian problem, but is common even in the United States and European countries, given the complexity of the technical aspects of these cases. Nevertheless, he describes the case that was recently decided as exemplary, in terms of the effort expended and the legal and technical details, praising the role of the colleagues at the Initiative that took it up, and considering it a living example that people&#8217;s action can make a real difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The environmental lawyer believes that such rulings would encourage citizens to break with the reluctance towards environmental litigation that prevails because of fear of the length of the procedures and their costs. He stresses that the latest ruling carries an important message, namely that environmental violations may ultimately result in huge compensation that burdens companies and forces them to respect environmental laws, especially if this coincides with serious work by the government and the Environmental Affairs Agency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, El-Saidi criticises the policy of &#8220;regularisation of status&#8221; granted to violating companies, noting that many of these companies do not even comply with the regularisation plans themselves or with the timeframes set for them. He says that the Environmental Affairs Agency tries to play its role, but that the companies exploit their access to subsidised energy sources and various services to continue polluting the air, in a clear prioritisation of private economic gains over the public interest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The environmental lawyer stresses that decision-makers may view these companies as a source of economic gains, but &#8220;the real cost paid by society, in treatment at the state&#8217;s expense, losses in the tourism sector and serious health effects, far exceeds these false gains&#8221;. He insists that protecting the environment is not a luxury, but an economic and health necessity, no less important than any investment considerations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Recommended reading:<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/workers-5\/\"> <b>The New Labour Law: 42 Protests in 100 Days\u2026 and the Minimum Wage Is \u201cInk on Paper<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h1><b><br \/>\nAdvanced Legislation\u2026 and Faltering Implementation<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Egyptian Environment<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeaa.gov.eg\/Laws\/55\/index\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Law<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> No. 4 of 1994, and its subsequent amendments in 2009 and 2015, regulates the protection of the environment from industrial pollution, imposes environmental impact assessments and emission limits, and obliges facilities to install monitoring and treatment equipment. The recent amendments and the executive regulations amended in 2024 also tightened oversight of environmental measurements and linked environmental compliance to the use of accredited laboratories. However, despite this relatively advanced legislative framework, residents&#8217; complaints and court cases reveal a clear gap between the texts and their application, particularly with regard to monitoring actual emissions and imposing deterrent penalties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wafaa Ashry, coordinator of the climate programme at the Centre for Trade Union and Workers&#8217; Services, stresses that cement factory workers are directly and continuously exposed to cement dust, a fine mixture of particles containing silica, calcium oxides and sometimes heavy metals, which vary according to the type of fuel used inside the factories. She explains that this chronic exposure does not come without a health price, as it leads to serious chest diseases, including chronic bronchitis, occupational asthma and pulmonary fibrosis, and in many cases suspicion is raised of an increased risk of lung cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wafaa notes that the most dangerous aspect of this harm is that it is not instantaneous, but cumulative and silent, as its effects build up over the years of work and its clear symptoms only appear after a long period, often after the worker has lost the ability to prove the link between the illness and the nature of his work. She points out that there are studies issued by the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization that classify cement dust as a clear occupational hazard requiring strict oversight and effective preventive measures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the legal level, she explains that industrial facilities are, on paper, obliged to provide prevention and occupational safety mechanisms, but that reality reveals partial or formal compliance, and in some facilities this compliance is completely non-existent. She adds that Egyptian law obliges employers to provide personal protective equipment and ventilation systems and to carry out periodic medical examinations, under Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, particularly the articles on occupational safety and health. However, what actually happens in most cement factories is that the protective equipment is insufficient or does not meet specifications, with the worker alone made responsible for using it, without real training or awareness of the risks of exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She also points out that the medical examinations are often routine and perfunctory, and are not linked to measuring the cumulative effect of exposure to cement dust. She further notes the weakness or absence of occupational safety inspections, or their transformation into a mere administrative procedure without any real effect, stressing that this is not an exception or a matter of isolated cases, but a pattern documented in trade union and human rights reports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The labour leader explains that the worker, in theory, has the right to have his injury recognised as an occupational disease, to treatment at the expense of the insurance body, and to compensation for partial or total disability, and in some cases is entitled to be transferred to a job that does not expose him to the same risk. In practice, however, Ashry stresses that this path is &#8220;full of obstacles&#8221;, most notably the difficulty of proving the causal relationship between the illness and the work, as well as the weak registration of occupational diseases in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She adds that workers&#8217; fear of reporting their injuries, for fear of losing their source of livelihood, is an additional obstacle, alongside what she sometimes describes as &#8220;administrative collusion&#8221; between some facilities and the examining bodies. As a result, occupational disease turns from an institutional responsibility into a personal tragedy whose consequences the worker bears alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wafaa criticises the absence of any serious treatment of this crisis, stressing that the reason is not technical so much as political-economic. The cement industry, as she describes it, is one of the heavy industries linked to investment, exports and the provision of hard currency, and any real tightening of oversight necessarily means raising production costs, obliging companies to use cleaner technology, and opening the files of compensation and legal liability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ashry believes that in the balance of public policy, workers&#8217; health is often placed on a lighter scale than &#8220;investment stability&#8221;, especially since the affected workers mostly belong to groups with weak trade union organisation and a limited voice in the public sphere. In addition, the lack of transparency, the weakness of official data on occupational diseases, and the treatment of environmental and occupational health issues as a &#8220;marginal file&#8221; are all factors that keep the crisis ongoing, postponed and offloaded onto the bodies of the workers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ashry concludes by stressing that the pollution of cement factories is not an incidental accident or a passing fault, but the result of a production model that treats the worker as expendable, the air as a secondary detail, and illness as a side cost that does not appear in the budgets. She insists that recognising this fact is the first step towards any serious and genuine solution.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In the areas adjacent to cement factories in Egypt, exposure to fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) and asbestos<a href=\"https:\/\/environmentaldevices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cement-Factory-PM-10-PM-2.5-Health-Risks.pdf\"> is linked<\/a> to increased risks of respiratory diseases and cancer, with studies pointing to earlier deaths of former workers from lung cancer and asbestosis.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in cement factories that previously used asbestos, at least 8 workers<a href=\"https:\/\/www.corpwatch.org\/article\/egyptian-asbestos-workers-dying-cancer\"> died<\/a> of lung cancer, with 46 others suffering from similar health risks, according to reports from 2005, but the continuing effects affect the neighbouring residents.<\/p>\n<p>Studies on environmental exposure to asbestos in Egypt<a href=\"https:\/\/www.corpwatch.org\/article\/egyptian-asbestos-workers-dying-cancer\"> showed<\/a> an increased risk of pleural cancer (one of the most dangerous types of lung cancer) at rates<a href=\"https:\/\/www.emro.who.int\/emhj-volume-15-2009\/volume-15-issue-1\/article3.html\"> reaching<\/a> several times higher in nearby areas, with data from the past 20 years pointing to deaths linked to toxic airborne fibres. In addition, cement factory workers<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4772492\/\"> suffer<\/a> from chronic respiratory symptoms at high rates, which increases rates of premature death in these areas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The pollution produced by cement factories in Egypt<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10163184\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is linked<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mainly to the emission of dense dust particles and polluting gases (nitrogen and sulphur oxides and carbon dioxide), and affects air quality and the health of residents in industrial areas such as Alexandria, Beni Suef, Helwan and others. At the same time, studies and reports show that Egyptian environmental standards have developed in form, but that their application on the ground remains a subject of community and judicial dispute in a number of residential areas adjacent to the factories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, Egypt pledged in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/climatepromise.undp.org\/what-we-do\/where-we-work\/egypt\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to reduce<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> emissions by 37% in the electricity sector (80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) and by 65% in the oil and gas sector (1.7 million tonnes), compared with a business-as-usual scenario, by 2030. In the second update of the NDC in 2023, Egypt set sectoral targets that include reducing emissions by 40% below business-as-usual levels by 2030, with a focus on adaptation and mitigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government launched the National Climate Change Strategy 2050 in May 2022, which includes priority projects to reduce emissions, with a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/climateactiontracker.org\/countries\/egypt\/policies-action\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">commitment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to increase the share of renewable energy to 42% by 2030, that is, four times the current share.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To align with the Paris Agreement&#8217;s 1.5 degrees Celsius, Egypt must reduce emissions by 22% below 2015 levels by 2030, with<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/feature\/2024\/11\/25\/climate-action-a-catalyst-for-egypt-s-prosperity-and-sustainable-growth\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">estimates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> indicating that emissions will rise to 440\u2013467 million tonnes by 2030 under current policies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Egypt has obtained numerous international<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2023\/03\/01\/egypt-new-grant-seeks-to-improve-management-of-electronic-and-healthcare-waste\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">grants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to support efforts to reduce pollution, including a grant of US$9.13 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2023 for the management of electronic and medical waste in Greater Cairo, with the aim of improving air quality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It also signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank in 2025<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeas.europa.eu\/node\/8742\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for a European grant<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> worth EUR 21 million to decarbonise the Egyptian economy. Between 2015 and 2021, Egypt received 54% of the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/egyptianstreets.com\/2022\/08\/08\/ahead-of-cop27-egypt-to-receive-e4-million-from-eu-to-support-environmental-protection\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">total<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of $403.6 million allocated by international donors to air quality in Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In November 2025, it<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleanairfund.org\/clean-air-africas-cities\/cairo\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">launched<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Sustainable Green Industries Programme, with European funding of EUR 271 million (EGP 14.8 billion), to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability. It also obtained a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/egyptianstreets.com\/2022\/08\/08\/ahead-of-cop27-egypt-to-receive-e4-million-from-eu-to-support-environmental-protection\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">grant<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of EUR 4 million from the European Union in 2022 to strengthen environmental protection ahead of the COP27 conference, in addition to the EPAP III programme for cleaner production, and grants of up to US$125,890 for green projects through the HAFIZ platform.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The crisis of cement factories in Egypt reveals a structural flaw in the management of the relationship between industrial development and residents&#8217; rights to health and the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amid expanding production, a slow green transition and the absence of updated and transparent national databases, environmental justice remains postponed, and the polluted air remains a daily witness to a development cost whose social and health accounts have not been fully reckoned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a decade of litigation, Egypt enforced the first court ruling obliging the &#8220;Titan&#8221; company to pay EGP 1 million in compensation to the residents of Wadi El-Qamar for the environmental pollution caused by the cement factory, in a precedent that reveals the true face of a polluting industry and a crisis of postponed environmental justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410,413],"tags":[],"kateb":[6247],"class_list":["post-16892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigations-en","category-society-en","kateb-rasha-ammar"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\u0623\u0633\u0645\u0646\u062a-5.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16892"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24186,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16892\/revisions\/24186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16892"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=16892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}