A delegation consisting of Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Minister of Environment, Dr. Osama Kamal, Governor of Cairo, accompanied by a number of senior officials Shoura Council members and NGOs, visited on Tuesday, February 12th, 2013, Tourah Portland Cement Company (TPCC) plant, a subsidiary of Suez Cement group of Companies (SCGC).
The visit was to witness the positive impact of replacing electrostatic filters with bag house filters in the production line #8.
The project, completed in February 2012, was funded partially with a loan from the Egyptian Pollution abatement Project (EPAP II) of EEAA.
Upon arrival, the delegation was welcomed by SCGC Managing Director, Mr. Bruno Carré, Technical Director Fabio Burchielli, TPCC Plant Manager Mr. Sanad Morad and SCGC s Environmental Affairs Manager Mr. Mohamed Ayman. Following a detailed presentation, the delegation made a field tour in the plant.
Mr. Bruno Carré stated that this project was completed with an investment worth U$24M. He added that the implementation of this project confirms the aim of Suez Cement Group of Companies to reduce dust emissions, in order to comply with the new amendments in the environment law. Meanwhile, the installation of the fabric filters for kiln # 9 is already down the road. Mr. Carré pointed out that there is a similar project that will be implemented this year in Helwan Cement Company (HCC), a subsidiary of Suez Cement group of Companies (SCGC).
Carré confirmed that SCGC is well aware of the energy challenges in Egypt, in terms of subsidies and scarcity, while, on the other side, the Company should secure the continuity of kilns operation and the availability of cement in the local market. Therefore, the Company had prepared a long term investment plan that can both support the Government in facing the energy challenges and secure the Company s operations. The plan is to replace the country s conventional energy resources (natural gas and mazut), used in the Group s plants, with alternative fuels, such as municipal waste (RDF), coal and petcoke, following the worldwide industry norms and standards. He added that the replacement project needs the support of authorities, in terms of developing a system to organize the different aspects of the use of alternative fuels.
Since 2006, SCGC has invested a significant percentage of its industrial investments -more than 500 million pounds- towards implementing a comprehensive environmental policy.
All SCGC plants are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified and are in full cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, hence their full compliance with target environmental standards. All plants are subject to comprehensive audit by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) so as to ensure full compliance to local standards.
