The Alexandria Court of Appeal issued a ruling on 2 November 2023 ordering compensation to a resident of Wadi al-Qamar area for damage to her health caused by pollutants emitted from the Titan Cement plant, which is owned by the multinational Titan International, whose market value exceeds $2.4 billion. However, the company, which closed its factories in Europe in response to strict environmental requirements in the European Union countries, is still intransigent in implementing the court ruling. The court ordered a compensation worth EGP 750,000 in favour of Ms. Hanaa Abdel-Latif, in appeal No. 6882 of 75 (High Appeal Compensation – Alexandria), filed by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). In its appeal, EIPR demanded compensation for the woman affected by the emissions of Alexandria Portland Cement Company (Titan Cement), which has been using coal as an alternative fuel to natural gas since 2015. 

The company's decision to build a coal-burning unit only ten meters away from the Wadi al-Qamar residential area, in violation of the standards and conditions stipulated in the environmental law and its executive regulations, has endangered the safety, health, and lives of the residents, leaving them in a precarious situation.

Since the verdict was issued in November 2023, Abdel-Latif has been seeking compensation, but she has faced the high fees prescribed for implementing the ruling. So, she asked for part of the compensation amount, EGP 100,000, to pay the necessary fees to obtain the rest of the compensation.

However, Titan Cement has been using all legal methods to obstruct the implementation of the ruling. Despite court rulings rejecting the company's claims of implementation problems, Titan continues to resist. The company now claims it does not have the EGP 100,000 for compensation, leading the judicial authorities to seize a number of its assets. The authorities have set 27 August 2024 as a deadline for the company to pay the compensation, threatening to sell the seized items if the amount is not paid.

EIPR calls on Titan Cement, whose shares recovered today (6 August 2024), reaching $30.1 per share, to respect the court rulings and not to circumvent them to avoid reparation and payment of the compensation to those affected by the environmental violations committed by major and multinational companies.

For more information about the cases and the compensations received by EIPR in favour of Wadi al-Qamar victims, click here.