(Photo by David Cooper)
By Shaimaa Ahmed
The national housing project set to provide 1m new housing units is aiming for the units to be constructed within five years, with investments of up to $40bn and using 160m square metres. The project will be carried out in cooperation with Emirati Arabtec LLC, one of the largest construction companies in the GCC for construction and real estate development.
The project will be located in 18 governorates across Egypt, including Cairo, Ismailia, Sharqeya, Daqahleya, Menufiya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbeya, Beheira, Fayoum, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, New Valley, and Matruh.
In March, Arabtec signed a cooperation protocol with the armed forces Engineering Authority to construct and fund 1m integrated housing units and associated facilities and services. In a statement issued by Arabtec on 16 November, the company announced that it is working to complete negotiations with the Egyptian government before the end of 2014.
The Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development will hold a meeting with company officials before the end of November. They will agree upon the project’s final terms, which will be implemented by the end of this year.
The agreement stated that Arabtec will receive project land and hand units over to the government in exchange for the government providing facilities.
The Ministry of Housing will establish all the bases for the project, using state-of-the-art technology during project construction. Additionally, every unit will have a solar heater to save electricity, as well as digital electricity and water metres that operate on prepaid cards.
The Urban Communities Authority, a subsidiary the Ministry of Housing, selected El Obour City, Badr City, and New Minya City for Phase One of the project.
In this phase, 420,000 housing units will be built, while New Assiut City will be the alternative for Phase One. These cities were chosen due to their large industrial areas and the job opportunities they provide. Employment opportunities will be available for those living in these cities, with the first housing units to be delivered in early 2017.
