Humans are the cornerstone of development, hence was the state interest in slums since President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi assumed office.
The government drew up plans to develop slums and prioritised them. It divided slums into two categories. The first are the dangerous slums, which the government pledged to make 2018 the final year for. These slums account for 40% of all slums in Egypt, according to data from the Informal Settlements Development Fund (ISDF).
The total spending on developing dangerous slums since the fund was established in 2015 amounted to EGP 656m, compared to EGP 4bn spent on development since the beginning of Al-Sisi’s tenure, including EGP 3.5bn spent since the presidential directive was declared to eliminate dangerous slums in two years.
Former head of the ISDF Adel Darwish told Daily News Egypt that 23 dangerous slums have undergone development by establishing 22,000 residential units, which leaves 289 slums with 186,000 units undeveloped. This includes 86,000 units currently underway and 80,000 other units that include 30,000 units that do not need to be rebuilt, but rather, require removal of pollution through changing the routes of high-voltage power lines or wastewater projects. There are 45,000 that are being prepared to be completed by the end of this year.
Four hundred and thirty-seven families have chosen to move from Maspero Triangle to Asmarat, 370 of whom have already been relocated and the rest are in the process of being transferred.
ISDF data shows that 25,000 units have been established in different projects, including Asmarat and Mahrousa, next to 90,000 units now underway.
In addition, there is Bashayer Al-Khair 1 project in Gheit Al-Enab region in Alexandria, which includes an area of 34 buildings with a total of 1,632 units.
The projects carried out in these areas included the replacement and renovation of drinking water, sewage and fire-fighting infrastructure, paving and lighting main and secondary streets and intersections, establishing a number of markets to serve citizens, and the re-establishment of a number of homes for citizens whose houses were damaged, despite the difficulties and obstacles encountered in the implementation of these projects.
In Cairo, 17 slums have been developed, including El-Petrol Street, Sheikh Mansour Street in El Marg district, South and North Ain Shams areas, Abajieh in Al-Khalifah, Ezbet Abu Hashish in Al Qubbah, Abulayla area and Ahmed Khalil branches in Al-Zawia Al Hamra, Souq El Wahayed in Manshiet Nasser, Kotseika in Turah, Girgis El Assal in Shubra, Ezzbet Nafe and El-Khobery in Maadi, two regions in Dar El-Salam: Ezbet Khairallah and Geziret Dar El-Salam, and three areas in Al-Salam district: Mecca, Esbeko market, and Nile Market, and Ezbet El-Haggana east of Nasr City.
The areas that were developed in Giza governorate comprised 13 areas, including Zaky Matar, Ezzbet Al-Saa’ida, Ezzbet El-Matar in Imbaba, Bahr El-Balad and Ezzbet El-Mofty in Waraq, Abo Katada in Bulaq, Old Agouza and Ard El-Liwa, Old Talbiya in Omraniyah, Roqaa in Giza, and Kafr Nassar, Ezzbet Gebril, and Kafr El Arab in Haram.
In Helwan, 16 areas were developed, including El Huda City, Rokn Helwan, Ezzbet El Walda, Manshyet Ein Helwan, Bein El-Ezbetein, Manshyet El-Salam, Arab Rashed, and Arab Abo Dahroug.
