Egypt is implementing multi-storey residential towers in Maspero Triangle, one of the biggest slums in the country, said its Minister of Housing Assem el-Gazzar on Monday. El-Gazzar held a meeting with a number of top officials at the Housing Ministry and the Informal Settlements Development Fund (ISDF) to follow up ongoing works on the residential towers, which are spanning over 6.2 feddans. Maspero Triangle was given its name because of its triangle shape on the map. Maspero triangle's residents were asked to choose between financial compensation, relocation to Asmarat or to remain in homes until development finished. 10 percent chose to move to Asmarat and another 10 percent to remain in their place until development works are finished. 80 percent chose to receive financial compensation. The project is part of Boulaq district in central Cairo and is home to 18,000 residents, according to 2014 estimates by Madd platform, an independent urban development institution. The Maspiro triangle project will include recreational areas and commercial zones. It will also have hotels, touristic places facing the Nile River, in addition to a recreational area worth 10 billion pounds ($556.9 million). Egyptian Housing Ministry estimates that 40 percent of Cairo population lives in informal settlements, while Informal Settlements Development Fund estimates that 75 percent of urban areas throughout Egypt is unplanned and 1 percent is unsafe. President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi sought to tackle housing problems in the country, and a plan was set to develop various unsafe areas in Cairo, which has the majority of slums, and to re-house residents of Egypt's most dangerous slums. In May 2016, Sisi promised to move all those living in slums to new flats over three years, as part of an ambitious project expected to cost around 14 billion Egyptian pounds ($790 million). Established in 2008, Informal Settlements Development Fund (ISDF) has come to the forefront in spearheading efforts to eliminate so-called slums or informal settlements. The government-led fund launched various projects to map out these areas, such as Duweiqa, plan related intervention policies, and deal with residents and relocating them to other housing projects. By working with local authorities and the Ministry of Housing, ISDF's mission is to achieve social justice and ensure citizens' rights to adequate, safe housing, and develop their economic status and improving their economic situations in comparison to the areas where they previously lived.
