Construction Companies Can Now Build Urban Communities within City Limits

Law No. 1/2018 was passed as an amendment to Law No. 79/1979 regarding New Urban Communities. Urban communities may now be built within city and village limits after the Prime Minister’s approval of a proposal presented by the Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development. Previously, urban communities could only be constructed in unpopulated areas outside the limits of existing cities and villages.

Such a policy led to the erection of minimally populated residential complexes in suburban locations. Meanwhile, densely populated informal settlements within city limits continued to present safety hazards and impede true population distribution reform. The amendment of the New Urban Communities Law will lead to opportunities for the conclusion of administrative contracts between the relevant government entities and private real estate development companies as Egypt pursues its policy of urban reform and renewal.