Ministry of Housing (Egypt)

The role of the ministry

According to presidential decree No. 164/ 1996, some of the roles of the ministry include:

Ministers

Housing in Egypt

It is a struggle for Egypt to keep up with housing needs due to its quickly increasing and existing population. For years, the state has taken it upon itself to provide housing for the poor but this has become unsustainable as it doesn't have the budget for this type of continued providence.^{pg 85}

Method of selling land

When the ministry has land available for sale, investors apply for it and provide a deposit. A lottery is held and those investors who did not get a plot are refunded their deposits by the Housing & Development Bank. This method of land distribution can lead to speculation; investors believe they can make quick profits with resells. The repossession of land when projects are not completed is "rarely enforced" leading to empty lots and half-finished projects, as has been seen in 6th of October.

In 2016, the ministry reported a profit of EGP 22.2 bn, made by selling land and residential units.

Housing needs are addressed through foreign investors building in Egypt. In March 2015, 12.7 billion in contracts were in the works with Arab real estate developers constructing projects in New Cairo and 6th of October. Since March 2014, a multibillion-dollar housing project was being discussed with Arabtec, a Dubai-based contractor.

Housing needs are also addressed through loans. In 2015, the minister of housing said that part of the money from a $500 million loan to be received from the African Development Bank would go to social housing. In 2016, it was reported that the Informal Sector Development Fund and Cairo Governorate would cover the costs of upgrading three slums in Cairo. A grant from the German Society for International Cooperation was also to contribute to the costs.

Housing needs are also addressed through aid (grants) received from foreign governments. In a program that began on 28 August 2012 through 2018, the European Union earmarked 40 million Euros for the upgrading of the infrastructure of nine informal areas in and around Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia Governorates.

The demand for housing

The minister of housing, Mustafa Madbouly, explained that "Egypt needs to build 500,000-600,000 new homes a year to keep up with demand, 70 percent of which should be aimed at the poor." The situation has been so dire that for years some Egyptians have resorted to living (and working) near and in the cemeteries. One such place is The City of the Dead in Cairo.

In July 2016, thousands of rental units were made available, as renting is easier than home ownership for many poor Egyptians. Three thousand rental units were made available in Suez.

The Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces is normally the authority tasked with building government-subsidized housing (Social Housing Program), as in the 6000 units that were built in Alexandria in 2016. Whether those efforts would work to make a real difference remained to be seen, with critics saying the poor wouldn't qualify for the units.

Mortgage banks

The system for providing mortgages to low and middle-income citizens expanded in 2017.

New cities

President Anwar Al-Sadat began addressing the overcrowding in cities like Cairo by mandating the establishment of new complete cities. The first new city was 10th of Ramadan. The law (59/1979) initiated the building of new towns or cities but over the years some of these new areas failed to reach their target populations- with Egyptians, for a variety of reasons, choosing to remain living in the old, overcrowded cities.

Corruption

During President Hosni Mubarak's time in office, land was sometimes sold by the ministry, much below market value, as in the case of the Madinaty project.

The bureaucracy involved in getting official building permits, and passing inspections on building projects makes many average middle-class people want to avoid the whole process. Paying petty bribes allows people to get things done much quicker.

Informal settlements

According to the minister, as of 2015 between 40 - 50% of homes in urban areas were informal, meaning not built up to code. There are about 1,300 such areas in Egypt and some 300 are extremely unsafe.

In early 2016, plans began for upgrading some of the slums in Cairo namely in Sayeda Zeinab, Mokattam, and Abdeen. A plan to upgrade these areas and to build a million affordable homes to alleviate the continuing lack of housing was one of Egypt president's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's promises. As he continued to deal with corruption in the country, he celebrated the phases to develop the slums, a project called Long Live Egypt with its own funding. The Tahya Masr fund for the Long Live Egypt project was created to encourage citizens to donate to public housing and as of 2014 is managed by a board of trustees, which include Basil El-Baz, Naguib Sawiris, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, Mohamed al-Amin, Major General Mohamed Amin Ibrahim Nasr, and headed by Alaa Youssef.

Housing Affiliates

Utilities in Egypt

$74.5 million in U.S. aid was given to Egypt for Utilities management in 2007.