$20bn for housing in Egypt

EGYPT plans to build one million homes for poorer people at a cost of almost $20 billion over the next five years, the housing minister said, to ease a crunch that has seen slums and unlicensed buildings spread since the 2011 revolt.

With a population of about 90 million – and projected to exceed 120 million by 2050 – and with many Egyptians living in sprawling slums, the country is struggling to build enough houses for the poorest in society.

So many people live in a network of tombs in Cairo that the area has become known as the City of the Dead.

Housing Minister Mustafa Madbouly told Reuters Egypt needed to build 500 000 to 600 000 new homes a year to keep up with demand, 70 percent of which should be aimed at the poor.

The social housing project will see 200 000 new homes built each year, meeting over half the annual demand for cheap housing. – Reuters