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Since the dawn of the Egyptian history, the early beginnings of creating urban communities has been linked to the Egyptian civilizations. The ancient Egyptian was concerned with construction and reconstruction as an attempt to spread life on both sides of the Nile Valley and the Delta. Life was concentrated there at that time resulting in an agricultural rural country where its rural population represented 90% of Egypt's total population.
During the 20th century, a huge urban leap took place transforming Egypt from an agricultural rural country to a civilized country with an urban community that accounted for more than 45% of the total population. This was a logical result of the successive migration from the countryside to the cities searching for good education and job opportunities; hence, the issue of housing and reconstruction has been one of Egypt's concerns during its successive historical stages.
During the last two decades, several long-term strategies targeted, in the first place, to increase the populated areas as the state succeeded in increasing the un-populated areas from 4% to 5.5%. It also worked to create new urban communities that result in moving out of the narrow valley to the uninhabited desert areas so as to redistribute population chart; besides creating new fields of development in dif-ferent cities. It also resulted in the new communities, thus encouraging the private sector so as to invest in the field of housing and reconstruction.
Housing and Urban Development
Policies and Procedures to Solve Population Crisis in Egypt
Providing the suitable house, which is one of the necessities for the human be-ing, along with food and clothes are three essentials for human life. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a proper housing unit and to overcome all challenges that hinder this target, namely, the non-stop increase of population, high prices of lands and utilities and lack of finance required for building. The State has drawn up many policies to overcome these challenges and provide the suitable house for all. These policies and procedures are represented as follows:
- The State's commitment to provide soft loans for low-income brackets, where the loan reached LE 20,000 for each housing unit, to be paid on installments over 40 years with a 5 % interest rate.
- Paying due attention to the desert and establishing new cities in order to in-crease the unpopulated area.
- Providing lands with utilities and services in order to establish housing units for low-income brackets and youth.
- Developing the slums.
- Maintaining the present real estate wealth.
- Encouraging the private sector to participate by 80% in implementing the housing plan.
- Encouraging the scientific and research agencies in order to make building ma-terials at suitable prices.
- Enhancing the contribution of the Insurance and Support of the Real Estate Fi-nancing Activity Fund to help youth in getting housing units through providing a financial support and purchasing housing units in the areas that are determined by the Real Estate Financing Law.
- Reducing the real estate registration duties and the interest rate on financing real estate with distinction according to the area and the type of housing, in addi-tion to issuing governmental bonds to finance purchasing houses.
- Amending legislations in order to achieve the aspired goals and completing the Unified Construction Law to purify the articles of law from interpenetration.
- Continuing expanding the number of housing units through providing lands in the new cities for all levels and adopting projects that provide housing units es-pecially for low-income brackets including the projects of: Mubarak National Project for Youth Housing and Future Housing Project.
The 6th 5-Year-Plan for Socio-economic Development
The Major Pivots for Implementing President Mubarak's Platform
In view of the major pivots of President Mubarak's electoral platform, it is inevitable to meet the citizens needs despite their different aspirations and tendencies as regards the cities they want to stay in, taking into consideration that housing units must be compatible with citizens' income.
The National Population Project (2006/07)*
Housing Sector Performance
During the period (2006/07), about 280,000 housing units have been built including about 140,000 units for economy-housing units (equivalent to 50% of total units), 40,000 medium-level housing units (equivalent to 14.3%) and 15,000 upper-medium level housing unts in addition to about 85,000 economy-housing units in rural and reclamation areas. The private sector contributed to implementing about 266,000 housing units at a ratio of 95% in addition to the contribution of public sector to implement about 14,000 units at a ratio of 5%.
The Targeted Housing Plans for the 6th 5-year Plan and 1st Year 2007/08 Compared to 2006/07**
The Targeted Housing Plans for
the 6th 5-year Plan and 1st Year 2007/08 Compared to 2006/07**
Investments in the Field of Housing and Reconstruction*
Total implemented investments of housing and urban development sector till 2005/06 hit about LE 16.5 billion. Implemented investments during 2006/07 reached about LE 15.65 billion, of which LE 5,229,2 billion for governmental investments and the rest was implemented by public business sector in participation with private and cooperative sector.
Public Utilities
The State pays due attention to this vital sector in order to ensure the basic ser-vices in Egypt. The public utilities sector has two main objectives:
* Maintaining the citizen's health; this would be achieved by providing fresh po-table water to meet the citizen's needs and cope with the set standards and qualifications.
* Increasing the per capita share of potable water and sanitary drainage services and extending the coverage of these services all over the Republic.
The strategy of the potable water and sanitary drainage sector has coordinated with the State's orientations that aim to achieve the comprehensive coverage for cities and villages in order to fulfill their needs of potable water, and extend water and sanitary drainage services to the desert areas nearby the cities and outside the valley to ensure the increase of unpopulated area. In addition, the State adopts policies based on rationalizing consumption and separating between the economic cost of services and the state's support and mechanisms in addition to alleviating the pressure off the public resources as well as increasing the private sector participation in establishing and managing the potable water and sanitary drainage in order to accelerate the development plans and achieve better standard of services for citizens.
Total implemented investments of public utilities sector in 2006/07 hit about LE 4.9 billion, of which LE 2.6 billion for potable water sector and LE billion for sanitary drainage.
A- Potable Water
The increase of per capita share of fresh potable water indicates the great pro-gress achieved by the potable water sector. In 2006/07, potable water network coverage reached 100% in all cities and 97% in villages. In 2006/07, the total coverage per capita share of potable water amounted to 301 litre/day.
In addition, the total available productive capacity of potable water plants rose to 21.9 million m3/day and the total length of water networks rose to 29.2 thousand km.*
The following table shows the capacities of available potable water, the networks and their affiliates during 2006/07
The National Project to Cover 240 Villages
Within the framework of working for expanding potable water network cover-age from 97% to 100%, and in order to provide fresh potable water for each citizen in Egypt, the implementation of the national project for providing potable water in 240 deprived villages has started at an initial cost of LE 2 billion i.e. 47 million Kuwaiti Dinar partially financed by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the rest by the Investment Bank.
B- Sanitary Drainage
Sanitary drainage is one of the most important sectors that affects man's life and improves the surrounding environment.
The Achievements of Sanitary Drainage Sector during 2006/07:
- Available drainage capacity rose to about 14.91 million m3/day.
- Available desalination capacity rose to 12.5 million m3/day.
- Length of networks rose to 23.600 km.
Available Sanitary Drainage Stations and Networks Capacities and their
Appendices during 2006/07*
An Afforestation Project
This project contributes to achieving a more successful drainage system by eliminating harmful discharges which are a main reason for pollution; when poured into water courses, because of the harmful organic wastes it contains. These projects are financed under the plan of the National Authority for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage which is responsible for financing all the requirements of these forests.
Reconstruction
For several years, urban expansion and desert construction have been a main challenge in the field of urban development. During those years, the State managed to move to unpopulated areas in Sinai's desert, the New Valley, Northern Coast and Red Sea, in addition to areas with special nature in Greater Cairo. The main objective of building such new urban communities is to keep abreast of world development through modernizing Egypt's urban and population map.
Major Achievements in Reconstruction Sector during 2006/07:
- Within the framework of the State's plan to establish 400 villages in close by desert, the 1st phase started in 21 villages in 7 governorates from Upper Egypt governorates i.e. 3 villages in each governorate (Fayyoum, Minea, Sohag, Assiut, Beni Sueif, Qena and Aswan) which about three villages in each governorate.
- 430 km primary and secondary electric networks were completed.
- 6 electric transformation and distribution stations were erected.
- 112.5 km of primary and secondary communications networks were completed.
- 130 km of primary and secondary roads were paved.
- 23 projects for providing various services in the field of social security, admin-istrative, cultural and entertainment development were implemented including 8 kindergartens and schools and 5 health units.
New Cities
The policy of establishing new urban communities started in late 1970s, when the city of 10th of Ramadan was established. During the period (1981-2006/07), the state increased the number of new cities from 3 in 1981 to 23 cities and urban communities all over Egypt, of which 19 cities are still under construction with variable rates. In addition, construction works are still underway in 3 new cities which construction started under 2002/03 plan.
Moreover, construction works of new Qena has begun under 2004/05 plan as well as new Fayyoum and Akhmim. The 19 new cities in Egypt are distributed as follows:
1- Eight near Greater Cairo; i.e. 10th of Ramadan, 15th of May, 6th of Octobar, Badr, el-Obour, al Sheikh Zayed, al-Shorouq and New Cairo.
2- Five in Lower Egypt, i.e. al-Sadat, Borg al-Arab, al-Salehiya, New Damietta and Noubariya.
3- Six in upper Egypt, i.e. New Beni Sueif, New Menya, New Assiut, and New Aswan.
Achievements in New Cities:
- A number of operating factories in new urban cities increased from 896 in 1991/92 to 3709 in 2005/06. Consequently, the number of workers increased to about 825,000 workers.
- The capital of factories in new urban cities increased to LE 38 billion.
- A number of 500 housing units of "Family House" project were constructed as an experimental phase in 6th of October City.
- A number of 21,500 housing units were completed in the new urban cities.
- A number of 44,300 housing units have been established since 2005/06 till now.
- Some various service projects were completed including a youth centre, trilat-eral playgrounds, a child club, an ambulance building, a medical centre, kindergartens, various schools with total investments of LE 100 million.
- In addition, 3 water stations and purification units, drainage treatment stations and 10 sanitary drainage lifting stations were established.
- 3 water wells and one reservoir were drilled and built.
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