Settling sugar manufacturers' conditions have nothing to do with current sugar crisis

Environment Minister Khaled Fahmi stressed that sugar manufacturing companies that used to discharge wastes to River Nile have settled their environmental conditions by 75 percent.

He denied the closure of the factories over polluting the environment had anything to do with the current sugar crisis.

"It was important to give some time to the owners of these factories to settle their conditions because they are public works companies suffering from financial problems. We should not rush to close them and at the same time we cannot leave them to pollute the river," he told MENA.

But he denied that these violating factories have anything to do with the current sugar crisis, saying this is not the season of milling sugar canes. It starts on January 1 till June.

He added the ministry will keep a close eye on these factories and that it has deployed sensors to make sure they abide by environmental standards and that all pumping pipes discharging in the river are still closed.

Source: MENA