A total number of 50,000 residential units, which are part of Egypt's social housing programme, will be accepting reservations in mid-April, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development Mostafa Madbouly announced in a Saturday press conference. Adopted by the Egyptian government following the January 2011 revolution, the social housing programme aims to offer 1m residential units to low-income citizens with the purpose of achieving social justice. The residential units will be built in the 10th of Ramadan, Al-Sadat and New Assiut cities, Madbouly said, adding that other reservation bids for units in different governorates will be announced in May, June and July. Madbouly called for the construction of the residential units over a period of one year in order to "rapidly provide citizens with the units and boost the construction sector". In the same regard, the Ministry of Housing stated earlier in March that nearly 25,000 government-subsidised residential units will be available for rent by 30 June. Addressing the housing problem for low-income youth, former Defence Minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced on 9 March the construction of 1m residential units, in cooperation with the Emirati Arabtec Construction Company, which is expected to be implemented over a period of five years. Chief Executive Officer of Arabtec Hasan Abdullah Samaik described the project as the "largest housing project in the Arab world", noting that it is expected to create more than 1m job opportunities. Discussing the obstacles facing the construction sector, Madbouly stated during the conference that 20% of the Egypt's cities and 80% of the villages are not equipped with sanitation stations. "In order to face this challenge, the country needs EGP 120bn in investments," he said. The construction sector has been "negatively affected" due to the instability following 30 June, a quarterly study by Gleeds Construction Consultancy Egypt (GCCE) said. The price of construction materials, however, remained relatively stable, which indicates that the majority of suppliers and specialist contractors appear to be maintaining price levels to protect their market shares and profit margins, the report said. With the aim of luring investments to the sector, Madbouly said that the New Urban Communities Authority regulations are currently being amended to revitalise the construction sector. Madbouly noted that the government will announce a development project in the Halayeb and Shalateen regions in southern Egypt near the Red Sea coast, adding that Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb will declare the details of the project "soon".
