Egypt moves dangerous materials from ports to avoid Beirut-like disaster

Egypt has started disposing of abandoned and dangerous materials from its ports after the massive explosion in Beirut's port this month.

Finance Minister Mohamed Mait on Sunday told parliament, "What happened in Beirut made us examine our own situation and we actually got rid of large quantities of abandoned and neglected and dangerous materials that were in the ports.

"There are materials that have been delivered to multiple ministries including oil and defence and interior, and by next December Egyptian ports will be completely cleaned."

New customs procedures at would also improve controls at ports, Mait said.

READ MORE: FBI team set to arrive in Lebanon to participate in Beirut blast probe

A few days after the Beirut explosion, Egypt's civil aviation ministry said it had ordered a review of materials at airports and the transfer of any hazardous goods to safe storage.

The August 4 blast in Beirut, caused by the detonation of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at its port, killed more than 170 people and wreaked destruction over swathes of the Lebanese capital.

READ MORE: UN launches $565 million appeal for Beirut blast victims

Calls for 'transparent, credible' Beirut blast probe

US envoy David Hale has called on Saturday for a "transparent and credible" probe into the monster blast at Beirut's port, as FBI investigators headed for Lebanon.

"We need to make sure there is a thorough and transparent, credible investigation," Hale said, while touring the blast site on the final day of a visit to the crisis-hit country.

"We can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the port or the borders of Lebanon," Hale, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, told reporters.

"Every state, every sovereign state, controls its ports and its borders thoroughly," he added.

"I imagine all Lebanese would like... not to have the anything goes atmosphere."