[ad_1]
The Minister of Economy and Trade of the interim government, Raúl Nehme, announced, in a conference held before noon at the ministry, in the presence of the Director General of Grains and Sugar Beets Grace Berbari, that grain waste in the port of Beirut They will be demolished because their foundations are cracked, according to the experts who studied their condition. .
He said: “After the explosion, our concern was the martyrs who fell into the wilderness, and we worked with those affected to pick up the wounds, and on September 15 I received a call from the director of the pavilions informing me that there is a risk of explosion in the stable. for wheat, corn, and gas-emitting grains, and I immediately contacted the court investigator. Fadi Sawan asked to allow Al-Ahra’s task force to come to the site to closely examine the reality of things. In addition, I asked the Presidency of the Government to help us with the Council for Development and Reconstruction to eliminate the threat of an explosion. We were informed that the city council does not have experts in this regard.
Given this response, I got in touch with the rector of the American University of Beirut, Fadlo Khoury, the rector of the Jesuit University, Father Salim Dakash, and the company “Khatib y Alami”, and with the French ambassador at that time , Renault Foche, asking for free assistance, and in no time a French specialist from Paris and an integrated party team arrived. What did I call, and the goal was to assess the situation in nonsense? In the first meeting, a study carried out by an expert showed that there are three basic factors for the explosion: gases, grain dust and others, and high heat, which reassured us in this study that the temperature on the side of the sun does not exceed fifty degrees, while the explosion needs heat. This percentage is much higher.
He added: “After we obtained permission from the army to study the reality of the Al-Ahra building, it became clear to us that Al-Ahra is damaged and more precisely, as it represents a threat to the public safety of those who approach it. Our research focused on the method of emptying the wheat, corn and grains without exposing anyone to danger because the possibility of collapse is contained in each For a moment, especially since the foundation is damaged, and it is necessary to demolish to avoid any other issues that may arise. It was also found that only some of the western silos and those in the middle could be emptied. The experts emphasized that not all grains are suitable for human and animal consumption and that I will not allow these to enter pills, and both the agriculture and environment ministers agree with me not to use these grains.
They also stressed that “there are many solutions that are being circulated among experts, and they will be in accordance with international standards, which will be adopted with the participation of all stakeholders, and civil society will accompany us because the decision will not be easy and there is about 45 thousand tons of grain when the explosion “.
He continued: “Currently, we do not know the size of the existing quantities, and they must be registered, knowing that the work team continues with its work, provided that at the end of this week, one of the experts arrives with new technologies to protect the environment and those who work on the ground, in cooperation with the army, who will take care of the destruction of nonsense, accompanied by experts. We thank everyone for what they are doing and we hope that the future is better ”.
He explained: “We will not risk anyone’s life, and we will work quickly and with great conscience because the silos are very damaged and winter is not a problem, and we will work to empty the silos as quickly as we can and without risk, especially because experts are studying the situation to protect all workers on the ground. “
He highlighted that the “Khatib and Alami” company is Lebanese, and that engineers from American, Jesuit, Swiss and French universities are working on the study of this issue.
He stated: “Kuwait has shown its willingness to rebuild Al-Ahra, but we have repeated a strategic study of Lebanon’s strategic wheat reserves, which requires that we have a capacity for 175 thousand tons of grains in Beirut and in Tripoli and Bekaa with a capacity of 120 thousand tons each.
Regarding the quantities of flour stored in the Sports City, he explained that “the affected quantities do not exceed three bags, and are added to the large quantities because they are partially damaged.”
He said: “After the explosion, aid accelerated to Lebanon and we said at that time that Lebanon does not need flour because it has a 3-month reserve of wheat in the mills and they import wheat periodically. “It is suitable for making Lebanese bread only after mixing it with 75 percent locally made flour and 25 percent imported flour. We were able to schedule the process of delivering this flour to the ovens, and it remained for a period of no time. greater than 10 days to complete this process “.
He pointed out that “we contacted the army to find a place to store the Iraqi donation amounting to 10,000 tons, knowing that we distributed around 3,000 tons to the furnaces and mills, and the amount of 7,000 tons was stored in the City. Deportiva after we provided drums to lift them off the ground, as well as supplies to cover them and anti-rodent medicines to protect them. “What was raised about the damage caused to this amount is an error, because the damage is very limited, and the amount damaged does not exceed 3 bags and will be gradually withdrawn.”
He concluded by saying: “The global price of a ton of wheat has risen to $ 280 and the costs of the mills are increasing, so I will meet with mills and kilns to study the cost, but Lebanon today needs a government to run things. as soon as possible”.
Source: National Information Agency
[ad_2]
