The Egyptian government has decided to form a supreme committee to check all warehouses, shipments, and storage containers at all areas affiliated with airports nationwide in order to take all precautions for hazardous materials, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar Anba said on Sunday. The committee will be presided over by the head of the ministry's security section, Tariq Nosair, and will include representatives of all concerned bodies, the minister's statement added.
The committee is tasked with “checking and enumerating all warehouses, shipments, and storage containers at cargo villages and storage arenas affiliated with Cairo airport and all airports nationwide, in order to take all preventative measures against hazardous materials and to release them immediately or transfer them to safe storage places away from airports and populated areas."
The minister said the committee will fully re-evaluate procedures adopted at all storage places to provide the highest standards of safety and security, in accordance with the instructions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
He added that the move is aiming at addressing any risks before they arise and protecting all customers and workers in the civil aviation sector.
The move comes six days after a massive blast devastated Beirut, reportedly caused by the accidental detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse in the city's port.
The material, a common fertiliser, was confiscated from a ship six years ago, according to Lebanese officials.
