Government raises allocations of low-income housing by 19%: Finance Minister

The government plans to increase allocations to provide and develop low-income housing to EGP 13.7bn, a growth of 19% from last year’s allocations, as per a statement published by the Ministry of Finance.

The allocation by the government includes a social housing programme, worth EGP 11bn, a programme for developing slum areas, worth EGP 1.3bn, and developments in the poorest areas for approximately EGP 900m.

“The state has to interfere in order to solve the severe housing crisis of the Egyptian people,” said urban researcher Yehia Shawkat, who added that the social housing law requires the allocation of 1% of the revenues of the New Urban Communities Authority per year for the Social Housing Fund.

Shawkat believes in the necessity of raising this percentage to 20%, which will resolve many of the social housing issues. The government provides units with prices at EGP 135,000, while one-third of the population cannot afford a unit at EGP 75,000, he said.