Egypt developed 322 out of 357 unsafe areas as it plans to go slum-free by year’s end

CAIRO – 8 November 2021: A total of 322 out of 357 unsafe areas in Egypt have been developed as part of the country’s plan to eliminate slum areas, and replace with new housing units.

The announcement was made by the Urban Development Fund, which stated that a total of 210 thousand housing units were constructed as well as part of the plan.

Egypt has set a target to be declared as slum-free by the end of this year, after hazardous, unplanned housing has been sprawling for decades. In 2014, Egypt launched plans to construct 250,000 housing units at the cost of L.E.63 billion to relocate citizens living in unsafe areas. The fund determined the number of slum areas to be 357 unsafe areas across the country.

“The fund is currently working to develop the rest of the unsafe areas, which is expected to finalize by the end of the year,” Ehab Hefny, general coordinator of the Urban Development Fund.

Hefny added that the development plan not only targets the slum areas, but also uninhabited areas as well as historic Cairo area.     

In April, a total of 50 families residing in Cairo slum area of Batn al-Baqara were transferred to new housing units in the new Asmarat city, where they receive fully-furnished units supported with electronic devices. Cairo governorate also provided means of transportation for residents to transfer their belongings.

As part of the plan, the govenorate removed 43 buildings out of 730 ones to develop this area in Old Cairo.

The residents of this area have suffered for a long time from inadequate housing and lack of services, as 2,000 families are scheduled to move from Batn al-Baqara to Asmarat to improve their livelihood.

Asmarat is a social housing project offering alternative housing to slum dwellers, granting them fully-furnished residential units.

In May 2016, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi promised to move all those living in slums to new flats over 3 years as part of an ambitious project expected to cost -then- about LE 14 billion ($790 million); however, the budget was upgraded until reaching LE 38 Billion.