Egypt has seen working on a number of national megaprojects across three dimensions, namely economic, social, and environmental,  aiming to boost its competitiveness, create new job opportunities, and lure more of local and foreign private investments.  This comes as part of the state’s urban development plan and ongoing endeavors to achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030, also known as the sustainable development strategy (SDS).

The country’s national strategic plan includes the construction of many new cities cross-country as well as the refurbishment of informal settlements, not to mention the road network development nationwide and a program to improve water and sanitation services nationwide.

In this regard, the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities unveiled its top achievements throughout 2019 across the board, marking a stepping stone towards achieving the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Housing Projects:

Since 2014, the government has drawn a plan to enhance the performance of the housing sector, especially through increasing access to affordable housing to low-income households. This is reflected in heavy investment being pumped in a number of residential projects and offerings of many lands, either for developers or individuals. Last year, the ministry has managed to finish a total of 437,000 units divided into the following:

–  17,000 units completed in collaboration with the private sector

–  336,000 units built on land plots sold for individuals from different classes

–  84,000 units finished worth a total of EGP 19.6 bn, including 64,000 low-income housing units worth EGP 10.5 bn, 12,000 middle-income housing units with a total cost of EGP 4 bn, in addition to 8,000 distinguished housing units valued at EGP 5.1 bn.

New Cities:

As part of its plan to increase the country’s urban area from 7% to 14% to accommodate a growing population, which is likely to hit 128 mn by 2030, the government has unveiled 20 new fourth-generation cities stretching over 580,000 acres to house 30 mn people. In 2019, the ministry launched three new cities:

– New Al Fashn spanning over 18,000 acres to accommodate 1.2 mn people

– New Mallawi extending over 18,400 acres to welcome 1.3 mn citizens

– New Rashid across 3,200 acres to house 250,000 residents

Slums:

Aiming to make Egypt a slum-free country, the ministry has renovated and refurbished a number of unsafe and unplanned areas, with investments worth EGP 32 bn and EGP 318 bn, respectively. The projects, which are aimed for completion in 2020, included:

– 298 unsafe areas, with a total of 165,900 units, are completed

– 59 informal areas are under development to deliver 48,300 units

– 53 unplanned areas are finished, boasting 410,000 units

– 17 unplanned areas are underway for delivering a total of 150,000 units

Potable Water and Sanitation Program:

As water scarcity has been a key challenge for the growing population, ensuring sustainable water resources is becoming a matter of high priority to the government. In 2019, the ministry implemented a number of projects cross-country including:

– 54 water projects worth EGP 5.1 bn

– 241 sanitation projects with total investments of EGP 12.7 bn, divided into 76 carried out in urban areas for EGP 10.1 bn and 165 finished in rural areas for EGP 2.6 bn

National Road Networks:

Aiming to uplift Egypt’s 24,000-kilometer road network in 2014, the government has embarked on the “National Roads Project.” In 2019, the government managed to make a leap through the execution of 25 road projects, with a total length of 732 kilometers, at a total cost of EGP 8 bn. Implemented projects mainly included:

– A 210-kilometer route parallel to the Suez Canal – or June 30 Axis – worth EGP 5.2 bn

– Dayrout-Farafra Road, with a total length of 310 kilometers, with investments worth EGP 1.7 bn

– Al Gara-Siwa Road worth EGP 213 mn in Marsa Matrouh, with a total length of 96 kilometers

Given the present state, 2019 showed that the government is committed to progress to put Egypt on the right path toward sustainable development. Late last year, Invest-Gate undertakes a pulse check on the state’s hits and misses on the real estate front, along with the subsectors, during the current year.