Cairo: The People's Assembly (PA) recommended Thursday that the Agrium plant currently under construction in Damietta be relocated to another area. Discussing the issue at the assembly Thursday morning, 59 MPs called for the relocation of the plant in light of strong local opposition to the project. The fact-finding committee commissioned by the PA to investigate the furor also made the same recommendation, thought it had cleared Agrium and various government bodies of any impropriety. The PA's recommendation will then be forwarded to the government who will discuss the issue in their next cabinet meeting. Although the assembly passed the motion to relocate the factory, it does not bind the government into following suit, which will make the final decision about whether to relocate it or not. The decision of the assembly will be seen as a victory for the groundswell of opposition in Damietta against the construction of the factory 6 km away from residential areas and the tourist site of Ras El Bar. Relocating the plant will cost at least an additional $500 million according to figures presented to the fact-finding committee by Agrium Egypt. About 3,000 Damietta residents converged on Tuesday in front of the Doctors' Syndicate in the governorate to continue their protests against the construction of the plant. The 33-page report of the committee concluded that there was no indication of any financial or administrative violations by either Agrium Egypt or the various government bodies involved in the project. It added that the environmental aspect of the project had been addressed appropriately and that the only point of contention was the plant's location. The committee had found no evidence of illegal commissions that some newspaper reports alleged were paid by the company to facilitate the procurement of the permits necessary to begin construction. Comments from the CFO of the parent company in Canada Bruce Waterman cast doubt on whether the project will go through because funding for the plant was put at risk due to the delay in construction. Speaking at a conference in Toronto last week, Waterman said that construction of the plant stopped on April 21 because of a dispute between the central government and local authorities on how best to use the land, Reuters reported. "Because of this political dispute ... there's a lot of public concern about our plant, he added. Agrium has declared that banks funding the Egypt project are viewing the hold up as "a condition of default and are seeking to withhold future payments for the plant, Reuters added. Agrium has declared that it has invested more than $160 million in the project already and that the total equity commitment for the plant is almost $275 million. Damietta residents remain opposed to the construction of the fertilizer plant on the outskirts of the popular tourist destination Ras El-Bar. Aside from the environmental concerns, there is also a concern over the impact on tourism in the area, which is a vital source of revenue.
