(Photo by Ahmed AL-Malky)
Preparations for the demolition of the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters continued Monday, with the commencement of the demolition expected in upcoming days.
Loaders and bulldozers arrived at the site of the building on Downtown Cairo’s corniche on Sunday, with workers installing drapes to cover the building and completing their preparations on Monday.
In mid-April, the cabinet decided to tear down the building and commanded the Cairo governorate to execute the task under the supervision of the army’s Engineering Authority. A contracting firm was hired for the job, but further details, including the date for the starting of the demolition, are not yet available.
Workers at the site expect the demolition to start this week, with others suggesting the start of action to be at the beginning of June.
The building, which for decades was the seat of power in Egypt, first served as the headquarters for Gamal Abdel Nasser’s ruling Arab Socialist Union. It then became the NDP’s headquarters under former presidents Anwar El-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, and was set ablaze on 28 January 2011 in a landmark event of the 25 January Revolution that led to Mubarak’s toppling.
