The Ministry of Housing sent a proposal on the proportions of compensation for construction companies, which is supposed to be studied in the committee that will be formed by the prime minister to study these percentages and the award of compensation, according to Deputy Housing Minister Hisham Darwish.
Darwish said that the compensation is expected in August.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Housing has prepared the rates of compensation for contractors and the basis for disbursement. He added that the percentage of compensation in the sewage projects, the equipment of which is imported from abroad, ranges from 70-75%, and in residential buildings between 40-45%.
“The compensation percentages were agreed with representatives of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors, Parliament, the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, and the Federation of Egyptian Industries,” said Darwish.
From his part, the head of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors, Hassan Abdel Aziz, said that there are 2,400 construction companies that have been bankrupt since the liberalisation of the Egyptian pound exchange rate in 2016.
He noted that delaying the payment of compensation will increase the number of construction companies that are bankrupt.
For his part, member of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors Sahl Al Damrawi said it is a good step, as the Ministry of Housing has already prepared tables of the affected companies to compensate.
He explained that the prolongation of the disbursement period will not solve the crisis of companies in anything, because there were promises by the government to pay these companies 16 months ago.
In early May, contracting companies submitted a petition to Prime Minister Sherif Ismail to intervene to save the Egyptian construction companies from layoffs and bankruptcy by issuing a cabinet decision to extend the duration of projects during 2016 for six months, starting with the announcement of the Compensation Law in Al-Waqaae Al-Masriya.
