Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development Mostafa Madbouly visited Beheira Governorate to inspect 9,125 residential units that are being built as part of a social housing programme, according to a Sunday statement by the housing ministry. Madbouly announced that 2,106 residential units are also being constructed in Rasheed and Wadi El Natrun. The residential units form part of the agreement announced in March between former Defence Minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and the Emirati Arabtec Company. The ministry is working on a number of low-income housing projects slated to be completed by the end of June, including 8,000 low-middle income housing projects that are being implemented in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt, the ministry announced in March. Last week, Madbouly announced in a press conference that the ministry is constructing 50,000 residential units which form part of a social housing programme in the 10th of Ramdan, Al- Sadat and New Assiut cities, slated to be completed by the end of June. According to a report published in April by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), 50% of the low-income individuals are deemed ineligible to apply for residential units. Government regulations dictate that to qualify for ownership of an apartment, a family's annual income cannot exceed EGP 40,000, which encompasses around 10% of Egyptians. It has also set an EGP 23,040 floor, which excludes citizens who fall under the low and lowest income categories, or those who have received a maximum of EGP 20,858 and EGP 18,290 in FY 2012/2013, respectively, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization (CAPMAS).
