Egypt's Housing Fund recently hosted a delegation from China's Nanjing University, led by Executive President Mi Abd al-Hamid, to discuss the country's experience in providing affordable housing for low-income citizens. The delegation, comprising faculty members and graduate students, visited the cities of Al-Ashir min Ramadan and Hada'iq Al-Ashir min Ramadan to learn about the "Housing for All Egyptians" initiative launched by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2014. This initiative aims to build one million housing units for low-income citizens.
The "Housing for All Egyptians" initiative focuses on three main axes: land allocation, provision of affordable financing, and support for private sector participation in providing housing units for low-income citizens. The fund provides housing units with areas of 75, 90, and 120 square meters, with a repayment period of up to 20 years and a subsidized interest rate of 8% for low-income citizens and 12% for middle-income citizens. Additionally, the fund offers various forms of support, including direct cash support, which can reach 180,000 Egyptian pounds.
Mi Abd al-Hamid highlighted that the fund's strategy focuses on achieving social justice and equality among all applicants through fixed mechanisms and criteria applied electronically to all without exception. The fund also launched the "Green Architecture" initiative, which aims to provide environmentally friendly housing units for low-income citizens. This initiative, launched in 2020, focuses on rationalizing energy and water consumption and reducing carbon emissions.
The "Green Architecture" initiative has obtained local and international certifications, with over 41,000 green housing units receiving the GPRS certificate and over 14,000 units receiving the international EDGE certificate. The fund has also launched a new rental program, which includes around 15,000 rental units with areas ranging from 75 to 90 square meters, at a rental value starting from 1,500 Egyptian pounds.
The fund works to enhance cooperation with the private sector in building housing units for low-income citizens, having offered several land plots to private sector developers and completed the bidding and selection process. The fund has set unified eligibility criteria based on the results of income and expenditure research, which are updated periodically by the board of directors to ensure that all eligible categories are included.
The "Housing for All Egyptians" initiative has had a significant economic and social impact, extending beyond providing affordable housing to citizens. It has created around four million job opportunities and involved 915 construction companies in implementing projects. The initiative has also contributed to reducing congestion in urban centers, limiting the expansion of agricultural land, and curbing the spread of informal settlements.
The Chinese delegation expressed their satisfaction with the visit, praising the "Housing for All Egyptians" initiative and its achievements in providing quality of life for citizens. The visit was attended by several officials, including engineers Kamal Bahghat and Hala Ghazi, deputies of the fund's executive president, and engineers Alaa Abdel Lah and Muhammad Mutawalli, heads of the Al-Ashir min Ramadan and Hada'iq Al-Ashir min Ramadan urban development agencies.
Key points
- The Egyptian Housing Fund's "Housing for All Egyptians" initiative has provided affordable housing for low-income citizens, with a focus on sustainability and environmental considerations.
- The initiative has created around four million job opportunities and involved 915 construction companies in implementing projects.
- The fund has launched the "Green Architecture" initiative, which aims to provide environmentally friendly housing units for low-income citizens.
