Egypt will be free from unsafe settlements by the end of 2021, and from informal housing areas by 2030, as part of the Egyptian government's plan to provide safe and decent housing for all Egyptians, according to a report by the Media Center of the Cabinet. The report showed that 1.2 million citizens benefited from developing the unsafe areas with a total of 246,000 housing units in 25 governorates, at a total cost of EGP 63bn. The report indicated that these areas are as follows: 54 districts in Cairo, 31 districts in Giza, 22 districts in Kafr El-Sheikh, 10 districts in each of Alexandria and Port Said. As for the unplanned areas, the report stated that Egypt is scheduled to remove the unplanned areas in 2030, as the total cost to raise the infrastructure efficiency at the unplanned areas is EGP 318bn. The report indicated that 56 unplanned areas have been developed serving about 460,000 families. The report pointed out that the Bashayer Al-Khair project in Alexandria established 15,100 housing units at a cost of EGP 7bn benefiting 75,600 people. In the same context, 18,300 housing units were established during the Asmarat project in Cairo Governorate, at a cost of EGP 3.3bn benefiting about 91,400 people The report said that 31 unplanned areas were developed in Cairo Governorate, with an area at a cost of EGP 350m, benefiting 263,000 families. According to the World Bank's classification, Egypt has the lowest number of people living in informal housing areas regionally, and ranks 13th least globally. According to the report, the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) stressed that the Egyptian state has shown a serious commitment to developing slums over the past years, as it has implemented comprehensive and successful strategies that have resulted in good results. Moreover, Fitch stated that the Egyptian state is taking many steps to address the housing sector issues, noting that this sector will continue to receive support to provide social housing units and transfer citizens from slums to new housing units.
