Many informal settlements mushroomed all over Egypt since the 1980s at the cost of valuable agricultural land especially after the revolution of January 2011. As a result, about 40% of the buildings are now estimated to be informally built throughout Egypt and this figure rises to nearly 70% in the Greater Cairo Region. Because of this lack of formal urban planning and construction, and of inefficient public financing management, the Governorates and local municipalities ended up tolerating these informal settlements, losing thereby highly needed income.

Urban residents benefit from a more transparent land management, as well as better planned and financially sustainable basic infrastructure services, that offer an attractive and inclusive alternative to informal settlements and facilitate local economic facilities in two selected sites (about 40ha each) in each of two pilot Governorates. The project consists of three components: 1. Transparent and Effective Urban Planning and Design and Land Management- 2. Improved Public Finance Management and Land Based Financing and 3. Support to Urban Policies and Regulations.

1.1 Improved land management, detailed planning and infrastructure provision

1.2 Improved framework for local economic development

2.1 Local government assets and investments mgmt is strengthened

2.2 Financial planning for the implementation of the city detailed plans is enhanced

2.3 Management of the Economic Housing Fund is improved

2.4 Land-based revenue mobilization is increased

3.1 Enhanced local and national reforms on PFM, urban planning and land management

3.2 Scaling-up of the project findings

Expected results:  

Component 1

Improved city development plans and cadastral maps are produced for the four selected sites.

Land tenure and value are produced for each site.

Basic, public infrastructure is planned and partly implemented.

Component 2

Land titling and property registration processes is more transparent and faster.

Building permits delivery process is more transparent and faster.

Prioritization of investments and cost benefit analysis.

Diagnostic of management of the Housing Fund and action plan to improve it.

Review land-based financing instruments (e.g. betterment levy, developer exaction).

Component 3

Recommendations (e.g. for the Building Law) for enhancing detailed plans, building regulations compliance, cadastral and land registration systems, land value capture, management of the Housing Fund.

Strategy and recommendations for mainstreaming investment planning on the local level.

Dissemination of lessons learned in the Governorates.

International dissemination of lessons learned.

Phase 1 18.04.2018 - 31.03.2024   (Completed)