Ministry of Housing presents Egypt’s strategy to upgrade older urban communities, establish new cities to Saudi officials

CAIRO - 7 October 2022: A team from the Ministry of Housing presented Egypt’s experience in developing unsafe residential areas to a Saudi delegation on Wednesday.

The group explained the strategy in three points: eliminating hazardous areas and giving inhabitants alternative units in newly built districts or cities, developing slums that are safe but lack infrastructure, and erecting fourth generation cities to accommodate the increasing population of two million people annually.

Mohamed Essam and Abdel Khaliq Ibrahim, both assistants to the minister of housing met with a delegation of officials from the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and reviewed the challenges facing Egyptian urbanization, most notably the growing population and the consequent demand on housing units for different social groups, especially the low-income. 

The sprawling of unplanned urban areas has led to exacerbated overcrowding and economic activities in existing urban communities, which has resulted in traffic congestion, pollution, and inadequacy in infrastructure system to meet the needs of the population.

However, the state’s strategy has been effective: fourth generation cities, creating smart competitive investment centers, attracting regional and global investments, and supporting cities of previous generations to accommodate the expected population increase by 2052 estimated at 60 million people. 

The strategy also includes developing existing urban communities and raising the quality of life in them through in three ways: 1- new roads and public transportation at the highest standards to connect urban areas. 2- The exploitation of marginalized lands to start social and investment projects. 3: The development of unplanned, especially unsafe areas.

During the meeting, a computer presentation was displayed of the New Administrative Capital, New Alamein, New Mansoura, and New Aswan, as well as the state's efforts to eliminate unsafe areas throughout the country. 

A total of 357 unsafe slum areas, comprising 346 thousand housing units, have been redeveloped.  Ahl Masr Walk project on the Nile Corniche in the center of the country as well as ongoing projects to upgrade Cairo and strengthening its role as a capital of culture and arts have also been presented as means to develop older urban communities. 

These projects include Ain Al Hayat Lake, the Maqr Al-Ayoun project in Islamic Cairo, the Fustat Hills project, and the Khedivial Cairo development projects.