CAIRO: A Cairo Governorate committee began Thursday a survey of merchants at the ill-fated Friday Market which brunt down on Tuesday, in preparation for its relocation to 15th of May City in two months, said governorate officials. The fire broke out when a car swerved off Al-Tounsi Bridge in the Sayeda Aisha district and exploded, destroying the market and leaving three dead and 50 injured. Financial losses are estimated at LE 50 million, according to official numbers. "A deal was reached with Minister of Housing Ahmed El-Maghraby to dedicate 15,000 feddans in 15th of May City to the market which will be moved in two months," Khaled Mostafa, spokesman for the Cairo Governorate, told Daily News Egypt. "A committee will survey the land and lay out a design for the new market, bearing in mind input from the merchants regarding the size of the units they want according to their needs and the goods they sell," he added. According to Mostafa, the market will no longer operate in Sayeda Aisha and merchants have been asked to move their belongings from the area by Thursday. Yet local residents and stall and shop owners are skeptical of the government's promises. “How many years will it take? How will we feed our children until the government provides us with alternative provisional means?” local resident Hanan told Daily News Egypt. “I want them to let us earn our living until they find an alternative and if they remove someone today, then he should have another place by tomorrow,” she added. The market operates fully only on Fridays, but it is the permanent furniture shops that were most affected by the fire. “Furniture merchants did not pay for their merchandise, they [borrowed the money] signed IOUs," said one resident. “The least expensive of that merchandise is at least LE 300,000,” merchants told Daily News Egypt Wednesday. Mostafa, however, says that the valuation of the losses are exaggerated and that compensation will not be that high. On a related note, emergency repairs to Al-Tounsi Bridge were conducted by Arab Contractors Construction Company before concrete samples were taken from the bridge and analyzed in Cairo University labs. A committee assigned to examine the damage caused by the fire said in its report that 175 square meters of the bridge had cracked and 100 meters of a nearby railway path were damaged. Only cars and microbuses are allowed to use the bridge, linking Maadi and Helwan with Nasr City, Al Moqattam and Salah Salem roads, while heavy lorries and public transportation buses use the Ring Road. A committee made up of construction consultants is set to conduct a loading experiment on the bridge to determine the weight it can withstand and suggest possible solutions. Traffic authorities are contemplating the use of two roads adjacent to the bridge in the neighboring cemeteries as alternatives to the bridge. –Additional reporting Ingy Hassieb and Diana Maher Ghali
