JEDDAH: The Jeddah Municipal Council is to submit to the government next week a report on environmental pollution caused by concrete factories in some of Jeddah’s residential areas.
“The report on the pollution created by 37 concrete factories in Jeddah, particularly in the areas east of the Haramain Expressway, also contains solutions to the problems they pose,” said Tariq Fadak, president of the council.
“The solutions include measures such as installation of devices to determine wind directions so that factories can operate when the wind direction is opposite to residential areas,” he added.
In a related development, Bassam Akhdar, chairman of the Al-Samir district center, appealed to factory owners to take measures guaranteeing the environmental safety of people living in the district.
“The health of residents in Al-Samir and nearby districts is endangered by poisonous emissions from concrete factories, particularly crushers that operate in the area. The owners were given a six-month respite to contain pollution and adopt safety measures. That period will end at the second week of September. However, the factories have seemingly not adopted any safety measures to end the pollution,” said Akhdar, who made the appeal on behalf of the district’s residents.
“In addition to the air pollution, trucks and other heavy equipment clog the districts’ narrow streets making residents’ lives miserable. Truck drivers speed across residential districts leaving their loads open and often let pieces of concrete fall on passing cars causing windows to break,” he said.
Akhdar said the presence of a large number of expatriate laborers working in the factories also worries local residents. “These laborers, who belong to different cultures, pose a threat to the cultural and social life of the local people,” he added.
