Gov't to build 60,000 housing units for Alexandria residents of near-collapse buildings - Society
PM Madbouly gave these directions during his meeting on Monday with Governor Khaled, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Sherif El-Sherbiny, and other senior officials.
During the meeting, Madbouly also directed that the project start immediately, describing the move as a life-saving measure for Alexandria's residents living in hundreds of near-collapse buildings.
Khaled said the governorate has developed a database for all buildings with standing demolition orders.
Located on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, Alexandria is the second largest city in the country after Cairo. The city's population has reached nearly 5.6 million as of 2024, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
In recent years, Alexandria has witnessed a sharp increase in building collapses, resulting in a tragic loss of lives. The causes are often linked to illegal construction, structural violations, and a long-standing failure to enforce demolition orders.
The latest incident on Sunday, when a residential building collapsed in the Al-Attarin area, killing two people and injuring four others, has underscored the urgency of addressing the problem.
In December 2024, the governorate formed 15 committees under the Public Prosecution's directives to inspect ageing buildings and initiate legal action where necessary.
Buildings at risk
In May, the crisis was highlighted during a parliament session, when Governor Khaled revealed that 24,108 buildings in Alexandria are at risk of collapse. Of these, 8,000 buildings already have demolition orders — some full, others partial.
Khaled noted that the governorate has compiled a comprehensive database of these buildings and is intensifying law enforcement and monitoring efforts.
These efforts include removing encroachments on state-owned and agricultural lands, cracking down on unlicensed constructions, conducting regular inspections, and enforcing immediate removal of new violations.
Earlier, Alexandrian MP Mohamed Gaber Gibriel submitted a parliamentary inquiry to Parliament Speaker Hanafy El-Gebaly calling for urgent action to confront the growing crisis of unsafe and illegal construction.
Gibriel stated that the most affected areas include Karmouz, El-Labban, Minyat Al-Basal, Moharam Bek, and the Western District, where many buildings are either leaning or structurally compromised.
"Some of these unstable buildings are only 10 to 15 years old," he said.
West Alexandria District alone has approximately 7,000 old buildings — around 90 years old — that have demolition orders, he added.
However, local authorities have largely failed to enforce complete demolitions. They often remove the hazardous structural elements only, leaving the rest of the buildings intact, he concluded.
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