Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inspected early Tuesday the third stage of a housing project in Moqattam constructed as part of continued government efforts by to combat informal settlements, state owned MENA agency reported. El-Sisi stressed on the necessity of the completion of all planned projects within the deadline while listening to a detailed explanation of the project's ongoing construction from the engineers and supervisors responsible for construction, MENA noted. The third stage of the project includes the construction of 1680 housing units -- out of a total of 7440 units -- within a year for an overall cost of EGP 950 million, which is subject to increase. The Al-Asmarat Residential Complex project broke ground after a promise by the Egyptian president last May that he will oversee efforts to rehouse all those living in unsafe informal settlements to new flats within the next three years. In May, El-Sisi inaugurated the first and second stages of the new Taheya Masr-funded developmental housing project, which is committed to eradicate 'dangerous slums' in poor areas of Doueyka, Establ Antar, and Ezbet Khair Allah and accommodate those in areas deemed unsafe. The two stages of the project, which include 11,000 units, come with an estimated pricetag of EGP 1.5 billion. El-Sisi was accompanied Tuesday by the head of the armed forces engineering authority, Kamel El-Wazeer, and others before departing to attend the graduation ceremony of the Police Academy class of 2016 at the Academy HQ in New Cairo. The phenomena of informal settlements first rose to attention in 2008 following the collapse of a rock face on the edge of Moqattam that led to the deaths of tens and the injury of scores living in the Doueyka area, and reminded people of the urgency of addressing housing challenges. According to a governmental report in recent years, informal settlements in Egypt constitute around 40 percent of urban areas around Egypt.
