Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli issued directives to accurately count all residential buildings at risk of collapse, with a view to establishing a clear mechanism for addressing this problem.
Madbouli’s directives came during a meeting that he held on Monday with Local Development Minister Manal Awad and Minister of Housing, Public Utilities and New Urban Communities Sherif El-Sherbiny, as well as other officials, to follow up on proposed measures to deal with the ramshackle residential buildings.
The premier suggested providing alternative housing units for those who reside in dilapidated buildings, through the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund (SHMFF)
During the meeting, the local development minister presented a preliminary count of the number of buildings at risk of collapse, noting that several proposals for dealing with these structures are being studied in cooperation with the Ministries of Housing and Social Solidarity, with the aim of solving this problem.
On his part, the housing minister said the reasons behind the collapse of those buildings are the absence of periodic maintenance, the refusal of tenants to vacate their dilapidated houses out of fear they will not be able to find alternative housing, fraud in construction materials that do not meet technical specifications and manipulation of building permits, through the illegal addition of floors in violation of structural regulations.
The housing minister reviewed his ministry’s strategy for dealing with old buildings at risk of collapse and for reducing structural failures.
The strategy requires municipal authorities in governorates to establish residents’ associations for occupied buildings, enforce decisions on renovation, reinforcement, or demolition where needed, and activate the role of provincial committees tasked with inspecting unsafe structures.
