CAIRO: The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) allegedly gave a local council official in Hurghada a permit to dig approximately 1,700 meters into the Red Sea to lay the grounds for a new five-star hotel. Mohammed Shitta, the Secretary General of the local council of Hurghada was allegedly given the green light Thursday. On Friday, dozens of trucks arrived at Al-Hilal in the Red Sea city of Hurghada to clear the sea bed of a million-year-old coral reef. With construction workers present at the site, coral reef is now being replaced with sand gravel to prepare the grounds for the construction. According to the World Conservation Union and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), reefs in 93 out of 109 countries have been significantly damaged or destroyed largely due to human impact. One of the major factors contributing to the destruction of coral reefs is construction building. The construction of resorts along the Red Sea coastline has had serious effects on the health of the reefs. Human activities are destroying the reefs so fast, it would take centuries for it to recover, said Amr Aly, managing director of Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). Egypt s first Minister of State for Environmental Affairs was appointed by Presidential Decree No.275/1997. Back then President Mubarak urged the EEAA to deal seriously with problems concerning the environment and enforce environmental laws and regulations strictly, without reluctance or hesitation. Principle functions of the EEAA look to preparing the necessary plans for environmental protection and development projects. Mubarak s concern was that initiative was taken under the context of sustainable development. But this is not a project of sustainable development, Aly told The Daily Star Egypt. I m shocked that the EEAA gave permission for someone to destroy such a large stretch of the Red Sea. Although the 1,700-meter dig does not compare to previous "massacres that HEPCA has had to deal with in the past, this is not a way of ensuring environmental protection, Aly said. Head of the Media office to the Ministry of Environmental Affairs told the Daily Star Egypt that details of the dig have yet to be revealed. He added: We don't always trust stories that run in Arabic newspapers regarding this issue.
