296 more families moved from Cairo Citadel Aqueduct slums to alternative-housing units

CAIRO – 28 August 2022:  Cairo Municipal Authority indicated in a press statement that the number of families moved from Cairo Citadel Aqueduct slums of Gayara, Hush Al Ghagar, and Al Sokar wa Al Lamoun to alternative-housing units, since May, was upped by 296, making the total 1,196 out of 1,600.

The families in the area have been dwelling a total of unlicensed 520 flat-buildings. Of which, 200 were demolished by the authorities in order to build licensed residential and entertainment areas spanning over 95 feddans (one feddan equals 4,500 square meters). Those will include theaters, cinemas, shopping mall, and hotel.

The fully-furnished alternative-housing units delivered to the families, being evacuated, lie in Al Khayala neighborhood, which stretches on an area of 40 feddans, and consists of 42 nine-storey flat-buildings having a total of 2,268 residential units.

In a related context, Chairman of the Civil Development Fund Khaled Sediq told Al Watan newspaper in April that five areas are being renovated within the first phase of the Historic Cairo rehabilitation plan.

Sediq noted that Historic Cairo, also known as Islamic Cairo and Medieval Cairo, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The five areas are the surroundings of Al Hakem Bi Amr Allah Mosque, Bab Zoweila, Darb Al Labana, Haret Al Rom, and Hussein Mosque. The ongoing works include restoring the exterior of buildings that enjoy constructional safety, and rebuilding news ones replacing those sold by owners to the government.

Speaking of unplanned areas, the fund's chairman noted that the total surface area of those is 152,000 feddans dispersed across 227 cities nationwide. Yet, the development of 10,037 feddans of those is ongoing.