Egypt will import new rapid inspection equipment for export cargo going through Cairo International Airport, said Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Sunday.
The decision came following numerous complaints by Egyptian exporters that heightened security inspections of outgoing cargo was causing shipping delays. As a result, they had to pay late fees to import companies and some goods went bad.
Security at Cairo International Airport was tightened after recent threats by al-Qaeda and the interception of several explosive air packages.
According to Agricultural Export Council head Sherif al-Beltagy, Nazif called on concerned authorities to rapidly import the necessary equipment to solve the shipping delays. Airport security officials currently inspect all exported goods instead of employing the random sampling methods that had been previously used.
During a press conference on the sidelines of Food Gate, the International Convention for Food Exporters that took place on Saturday, al-Beltagy said Egypt Air was going to call back some of its equipment from facilities abroad in order to use it in Cairo until the new inspection equipment arrives. The new equipment will take approximately three months to arrive due to the high demand by different airports around the world.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
