Construction works at Rawdat Al-Sayeda project finished

CAIRO – 24 September 2018: The construction works at Rawdat Al-Sayeda project in Sayeda Zainab to house slum residents have been finished; the project will be inaugurated soon.

The project will be submitted in November, and the company responsible for the project is currently installing the sewage networks, water supply lines, and electricity grids in Rawdat Al-Sayeda to finalize the project.


Rawdat Al-Sayeda project in Sayeda Zainab to house slum residents have been finished-Press Photo

Rawdat Al-Sayeda, formerly Tal Al-Akareb, covers about 7.5 feddans (1 feddan = 1.038 acres). It had been a slum area before the government demolished the houses there to replace them by residential buildings, in line with the state’s initiative to develop slums.

In this regard, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who also serves as the housing minister, has followed up on construction works at Rawdat Al-Sayeda project in Sayeda Zainab.

During his meeting with representatives of the construction company responsible for the project, Madbouly called for intensifying efforts to complete the project, saying that the government has paid the company all its dues.

Madbouly also affirmed the completion of the project's water, waste water, electricity and natural gas infrastructure, adding that the project is part of the state’s efforts to provide a good living for residents of unsafe areas.


Rawdat Al-Sayeda project in Sayeda Zainab to house slum residents have been finished-Press Photo

In April, Madbouly rebuked the project’s directors for not adding side windows to the project’s new buildings, necessary for hanging laundry.

Madbouly previously called for adding side windows to the project’s units in order to allow residents to hang their laundry. Residents would otherwise use the front windows, which would disfigure the area.

Hanging laundry on balconies is prohibited in many Arab countries, including Morocco and Kuwait, and fines have been levied on violators. In Dubai, a fine of AED 500 ($136) is issued to offenders.



The residents of Tal Al-Aqareb were evacuated in 2016, after several unsafe buildings had been demolished and were transferred temporarily to a new housing area until the development of Tal Al-Aqareb is completed.

Khalil Shaath, head of Cairo governorate's informal-area-upgrading unit, said that in coordination with the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, 815 housing units, which would house 3,500 people, have been built at Tal Al-Aqareb, along with 324 shops.

In May 2016, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi promised to move all those living in slums to new flats over three years as part of an ambitious project expected to cost about LE 14 billion ($790 million).

In the same context, the Tahya Misr (Long Live Egypt) Fund, launched by Sisi in 2014, has been working on a three-phase strategy to eliminate Egypt’s shantytowns and re-house slum residents, including those living in Doueyka, Establ Antar and Ezbet Khair Allah. The project includes 15,000 housing units to re-house 60,000 slum residents. The first two phases of Tahya Misr are comprised of 12,000 flats. The third phase opened in 2017 and is comprised of 20,000 flats.

Al Mahrousa 1 and 2 projects

In the same context, Shaath remarked that the government has completed the construction of 90 percent of Al-Mahrousa 1 and 2 projects, which include 4,900 housing units. Al-Mahrousa 1 is comprised of 3,175 units, while Al-Mahrousa 2 boasts 1,594 units.

Al-Asmarat 3 project

At the beginning of 2017, the third district of the housing project in Al-Asmarat, Moqattam, was built, comprising 7,440 housing units. The project is constructed by the Tahya Misr Fund, in collaboration with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority.

Together to develop slums in Al-Salam 2 project

The project includes 3,312 housing units, which are built in collaboration between the Slum Development Fund and Together to develop slums.

Maspero Triangle project

Major General Mohammed Ayman Abdel Tawab, deputy governor of Cairo, said the government has been demolishing houses and shops in the Maspero Triangle in attempts to redevelop and modernize the three streets of the Bulaq Abul Ela district.