Sherif El Sherbini, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, emphasized that the Ministry upholds the belief that providing adequate housing for all is a fundamental right for every citizen, particularly given Egypt’s consistent annual population growth of approximately 2 to 2.5 million people, Invest-Gate reports.

To address the housing sector’s challenge of aligning supply with demand and ensuring every citizen’s access to suitable housing, the Ministry, following President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives since 2014, initiated an ambitious plan to tackle housing disparities, focusing on fostering collaboration among all relevant stakeholders.

These remarks were delivered during his address at the discussion session titled “The Future of Housing,” part of the activities on the second day of the 12th World Urban Forum (WUF12).

The Minister articulated, “Our aim is to realize sustainable development objectives and enhance urban living standards by offering a range of housing options tailored to diverse societal segments. These options encompass luxury, mid-range, and social housing, along with solutions for informal settlements. To date, we have completed 1.5 million diverse housing units and are in progress with an additional half a million units.”

El Sherbini highlighted that through the presidential initiative “Housing for All Egyptians,” the goal is to narrow the housing supply-demand gap and ensure housing rights for all socioeconomic groups. The initiative has garnered 1.6 million applicants for reservations.

Notably, around 700,000 housing units have been finalized as of September 2024, with 218,000 units nearing completion. In the realm of mid-income housing, 175,000 units have been finished, and 120,000 are underway. Luxury housing has seen the completion of 48,000 units, with 35,000 units in progress.