TANNERY owners are unhappy about having their tanning workshops, located near the Aqueduct in el-Sayyeda Zeinab, transferred to Rubiki near Badr City, 45km east of Cairo. One of the reasons they're worried is because Rubiki only has, as yet, facilities for 30 per cent of the tanneries. It is vital to have adequate facilities, because Egypt's leather industry contributes LE5 billion ($900 million) to the country's economy annually, according to a recent study on the leather industry. There has been talk about moving the tanneries for many years, but now it's getting serious, because Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has formed a committee to overhaul the Sour Magra el-Oyoun (Aqueduct) area. However, Abul Ella el-Ganzouri, who owns a tannery near the Aqueduct, is sceptical. “People have been talking about moving the tanneries for thirty years now. Nothing has happened and I think nothing will happen, for many reasons,” he says. “For one thing, the Rubiki area is still desert ��" it's not yet ready for us. It will also cost a huge sum of money to move all our machinery and tools there.” El-Ganzouri is also afraid that theirmarketing will suffer if they are moved way out of the capital to the desert near Badr City. In fact, they are already suffering, because the Egyptian market is full of imported leather products, especially from China, which get dumped in the local market. “These Chinese goods are produced from recycled waste, which explains why they're so cheap. These products are a health hazard,” he warns. However, Salah Galal, another tannery owner, says that Sour Magra el-Oyoun is an old place and it would be much better to move somewhere new, like Rubiki, which he thinks is very appropriate for an industrial zone. “The tanning industry needs developing. We need new machines and tools which would be inappropriate in Sour Magra el-Oyoun, which has become very polluted. The small tanneries will suffer if we move, but they only account for 5 per cent of the total,” he stresses. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Hani Barakat says that 22 workshops have already been established at Rubiki. They are of different sizes, the largest being 1,600 square metres. He adds that there are 300 tanneries at Sour Magra el Oyoun. But Mohamed Mahran, a member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Tanneries, explains that there are 530 tanneries and many of the owners are reluctant to move to somewhere so far away. “Senior officials don't care who wants to move and who doesn't,” he complains.
