Sherif El-Sherbiny, Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, recently announced a new policy that permits residents to apply for higher building ratios for penthouses in newly developed cities, provided they have complied with current building permits. The declaration was made in the course of a discussion about the implementation of Law No. 187 of 2023, which attempts to regularize building violations, with the heads of the new city authorities.
Senior representatives from the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) attended the meeting, which was centered on how the law should be applied and what rules should be put in place to carry it out. Minister El-Sherbiny emphasized that the goal of the new policy is to promote adherence to building codes and announced that beginning on December 1st, 2024, applications for higher building ratios for penthouses will be accepted.
The minister emphasized the reconciliation law’s wider significance and its contribution to the creation of a more sustainable and civilized urban environment, particularly in emerging cities. According to him, the legislation intends to make building infractions more commonplace, lessen the load on recently appointed city authorities entrusted with carrying out demolition orders, and provide cash for continuing development initiatives.
The minister directed ministry officials and NUCA representatives to step up efforts to educate the public about the benefits of regularization and to raise awareness of the law in order to motivate citizens to apply for regularization. Their responsibility involved creating and distributing educational resources via a range of media.
The reconciliation law and its regulations, as well as common building violations in new cities and ways to address them while maintaining the structural integrity of infrastructure, were also discussed at the meeting. The panel in charge of answering questions about the reconciliation law was given instructions to prepare thorough responses and distribute them to all new cities after heads of new city authorities presented their worries and queries. The panel will also draft proposed changes to the legislation, which will be sent to the cabinet for consideration before being brought before the legislature.
Minister El-Sherbiny reiterated NUCA’s and the ministry’s commitment to fully assisting the newly elected city authorities in order to speed up the processing of applications for reconciliation. He emphasized the need for a thorough inventory of all building violations, a consistent understanding of violations across all new cities, and a thorough analysis of the anticipated revenue to be collected from reconciliation in each city.
In order to guarantee effective application processing, Waleed Abbas, Deputy Head of NUCA for Planning and Projects, emphasized the necessity of accelerating the processing of applications and, if necessary, bolstering the review committees established by the new city authorities with outside experts.
Deputy Head of NUCA for Urban Development Amin Ghoneim emphasized the significance of the reconciliation law in dealing with building infractions and preserving the urban environment in newly developed cities. He gave city officials orders to step up their efforts in reviewing and approving reconciliation applications as well as to actively monitor and stop new infractions.
In cooperation with the NUCA’s planning and urban development sectors, the panel is actively responding to inquiries from new city authorities, as confirmed by Nefisa Mahmoud Hashem, Head of the Panel Responding to Inquiries Regarding the Reconciliation Law. Three guidance manuals on the reconciliation process for citizens, grievance committees, technical committees, and pertinent administrative authorities have also been produced by the panel. These handbooks have been given to all newly appointed city officials in an effort to inform the public, promote involvement in the process of reconciliation, elucidate the functions of committees and administrative authorities, and support them in carrying out their responsibilities.
