Umweltsauerei in Nuweiba geplant

Reisebine · 22. Mai 2009

Heute erhielt ich von den African Divers Nuweiba folgende Nachricht (Sorry, lang ) :

We contact you in order to ask for your help and assistance in an urgent matter!
We kindly ask for to join us in combatting a serious situation that is arising in Nuweiba !

We, and other investors, residents and workers in Nuweiba, have, over the past couple of days, just learned of the plans of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company to build a very large power plant, (750Mw gas powered turbines on a site of 105000 square metres - towering over 82 metres in height), in the middle of Nuweiba, South Sinai, Egypt.

Financing is reportedly to be forthcoming from the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank, (even though procedures of the banks and of the European Union for the granting of such financing has not been properly adhered to).

Furthermore, we were dismayed and shocked to hear that, allegedly, this project has been approved by the Egyptian Environment Affairs Agency. However, we now learn that apparantly this is not the case.

If such a plant proceeds, it will have a disasterous effect on the local tourism industry, on the local Bedouin population and, above all, on the local environment.

Nuweiba is one of the most picturesque parts of the whole southern Sinai peninsula, has an excellent and unique tourism potential, is home to two major Sinai bedouin tribes, and has an almost unique, relatively undisturbed underwater marine life.

Apart from the obvious enormous detrimental effects such a project will have on the local environment and population during the construction period, once operational, the plant will have a negative impact on the quality of air, will reduce the level of sunlight, increase noise polution and, above all, will damage seriously and irreparably the marine life and coral reefs that lie all along the east coast of Nuweiba adjacent to where the plant is planned to be built.

Such a large power plant will also cause the eventual demise of the local tourist industry and subsequently force the closure of the hotels, dive centres and other tourist service providers in the area, resulting in the loss of jobs for the many workers within the tourism industry and the loss of livelihood for the various local businesses that supply products and services to the tourism industry in Nuweiba. Tourism is a major source of income for the local Bedouin tribes so the effects on the loss of this industry is simply unimaginable.

We kindly and respectfully ask your assistance in putting pressure on the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, the South Sinai Governorate, the European Investment Bank, the African Development Bank and the Egyptian Environment Affairs Agency immediately to withold approvals for this project pending full investigations, in co-ordination with internationally recognised environmental protection agencies, as well as to hold full disclosure meetings and consultation with local residents, businesses and NGOs as this has apparantly not be done. The proposers of this project did place an advertisement in Al Ahram Newspaper, (a single, 1/8th page, insertion on the 8th April 2009 with very brief details on the project and with the instructions that any interested parties should visit certain offices either in Cairo, 470 km away, or Ismaileya, 400 km distant, or attend a meeting on the 15th April 2009 in Sharm el Sheikh, 160 km), but made no other serious attempts to advise, consult or inform the local community.

If you love and wish to preserve the beauty of Nuweiba, please sign the Online Petition you find on this link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com…weiba-and-its-coral-reefs

In addition, if you feel like doing more to help us, please send a brief letter of complaint to the following eMail addresses:

afdb@afdb.org

investigations@afdb.org

melkaissouni@gmail.com

cairo@eib.org

investigations@eib.org

complaints@eib.org

weeklymail1@ahram.org.eg

info@eha.org.eg

angela@sinai4you.com

...and contact the Egyptian Embassy(s) in your country! Please send this message to all your family and friends, in order for them to sign the petition, too!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!

------------------------------------------

DEUTSCHE ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

------------------------------------------

Wie Ihr vielleicht schon erfahren habt, soll ein riesiges Kraftwerk in Nuweiba gebaut werden, nur 2km von unserer Tauchbasis entfernt. Sollte dieses Projekt durchkommen, bedeutet das das Ende für jeglichen Tourismus in der Region. Pro Tag sollen 1,3 MILLIONEN KUBIKMETER Meerwasser zur Kühlung durch die Anlage gepumpt werden, was die Meerestemperatur um bis zu 8°C anheben wird. Dies bedeutet das Ende jeglicher Korallenriffe in Nuweiba. Die Anlage wird einen 82m hohen Schornstein haben, und diese Industrieabgase werden zur Folge haben, dass über längere Sicht alle Hotels schließen müssen. Der Lärm, der von der Anlage Tag und Nacht abgegeben wird, ist lauter als ein lautes Auto bei Vollgas, und Tourismus kann dies nicht akzeptieren. Um das Projekt durchzusetzen, wurde Nuweiba als „Industriegebiet“ klassifiziert! Alle von Euch die bereits hier waren, wissen, dass dies nicht der Wahrheit entspricht.

Das ganze Projekt wurde im Geheimen von der Regierung geplant, Anwohner und lokale Geschäftsleute wurden NICHT kontaktiert, da edas Kraftwerk wohl bereits an 3 anderen Standorten abgelehnt worden ist, und wir haben nur 2-3 Monate Zeit um es zu stoppen, denn dann soll der Bau bereits beginnen.

NUWEIBA BRAUCHT EURE HILFE!

Hier ist der Link zur Online Petition: