The project concerning the development of Imbaba Airport land has sparked a new crisis between Housing Minister Ahmed Al-Maghrebi and the people opposed to the sale of the airport land. This comes one year and half on after the minister's low-tone campaign to win the minds of those objecting to the sale and persuade them of the feasibility of such sale. The minister met a well-known journalist in his office few days ago to explain to the people the feasibility of this project. In response to such interview, the coordination and follow-up committee of the local National Democratic Party (NDP) gathered the party's leading figures to stand with the local residents. The committee started by addressing a message to the Party's Secretary General Safwat el-Sherif. For the first time, the committee agreed with the local committee for the defense of Imbaba Airport land to stand against the ministry's declaration last week. They pointed out that what the minister said was totally false, especially with regard to the local residents' alleged approval of the project after it being submitted to local committees. Al-Maghrebi started his campaign about a year and a half ago by phoning poet and journalist Farouk Goweida, after the latter's campaign on Al-Ahram newspaper against the sale of State-owned land, to explain his point of view in favor of the sale. The minister also tried to phone Dr. Abou Zeid, former chairman of Egypt's building and housing research center, and Dr. Sameh el-Alayli, former dean of the Faculty of Urban Planning, after they had declared more than once their objection to the sale of State-owned lands, including part of the airport land. For its part, the coordination and follow-up committee has started to take the opinions of NDP leading figures to stand with the local residents in order to have the project details declared as well as the way to get compensations. In a statement issued yesterday, the committee said that the Ministry of Housing had declared in his latest declarations that some 50% of the local residents wanted to stay in the area, while the committee pointed out that they were only 26%. The committee also denied that such opinion poll has ever been carried out, as claimed by the ministry. The committee for the defense of the airport said in another statement that al-Maghrebi "has defied the law by affirming that he cannot unveil the number of units demolished and their locations in order to avoid any contradiction. This means concealing information concerning Imbaba residents' life and vital necessities".
