Eliminating of Egypt's slums costs LE40B

CAIRO – 27 June 2021: The bill for eliminating slums in Egypt amounted to LE 40 billion, and the completion of this thorny file will be celebrated on June 30, according to the director of the Slum Development Fund, Khaled Siddik.

Siddik said that 357 areas and 1105 random markets have been identified at the level of the Republic, and the construction of the last 45,000 housing units will be completed within two months, noting that 21 percent of the residents of the Maspero Triangle chose to return to the area and there are 3 alternatives to housing them of their choice.

He added that a future plan has been drawn up to develop the unplanned areas and Islamic Cairo, and a study is currently underway to change the name of the Fund to the Civilization Development Fund, after successfully dealing with the most difficult file that troubles the state to achieve a "dignified life" and a safe life for citizens.

Regarding the cost of eliminating slums, he said that an initial cost of LE 17 billion has been set, and with the beginning of the implementation of the development of slums, there has become a stronger desire to improve the quality of life for citizens, or what is known as (urban ambition), by providing human housing, characterized by all the advantages and services that the citizen will need to live a (dignified life), and thus the cost increased to LE 24 billion, then came the flotation of the pound, which caused an increase in the cost to LE 32 billion, but the bill for eliminating slums and unsafe areas amounted to LE 40 billion.

The number of units increased to become 240 thousand housing units, he added.

As for the alternative housing projects for the slums that have been completed, Siddik stated that the Al Asmarat project in its three phases, with a total of 18,200 housing units, at a cost of more than LE 3.6 billion, and Al Mahrousa project, which includes 4,912 units, at a cost of more than LE 1.3 billion, and Rawdat Al Sayeda Zeinab project ( Formerly Tel Al-Aqrab, which includes 816 units, at a cost of LE 330 million, in addition to the (Ahalina 1) project, which includes 1,096 units, at a cost of LE  640 million.

He explained that the (Ahalina 2) project includes 1,400 units, at a cost of LE 840 million, and the (Bashayer Al-Khair 1, 2, 3) project includes 15,000 units, at a cost of more than LE 4 billion, in addition to the fishermen's village in Ras El Bar area, and the Red Sea projects in Safaga, El-Qusair, Ras Ghareb and Hurghada, with a total of 1,600 units, at a cost of more than LE 1.3 billion. He also referred to the Tabia project in Marsa Matrouh, Lemital in the New Valley, and Halayeb and Shalateen 2,000 housing units.

He pointed out that the development of Islamic Cairo has recently been commissioned, and plans and consultations have been started to start implementation on the ground, which makes it difficult to implement unlike projects that are being built anew, to preserve and develop them, and the random nests that surround areas inside Cairo will be removed. Islamic crafts, while preserving handicrafts within the regions and developing them better for their owners and providing better places for business owners that are incompatible with the nature of the place.