Egypt Will No Longer Allow Construction in High-Density Areas

Driving down the highway we're met with many iconic structures of Cairo: the holy mosques and churches, the mighty fortresses, the distinguished hotels gracing the skies. And we're also met with other, less fortunately iconic structures - like the eternally unfinished apartment buildings with their un-plastered exteriors and a new floor being added every other month - and the more people populate these buildings, the more crowded the surrounding areas will become, perpetuating the phenomenon of random unplanned urbanization that has plagued Egypt over the past 40 years.

In certain areas of Cairo and Giza, this will no longer be allowed. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has declared that those who want to build can now only do so in new cities, although the state will still allow people in areas that are less populated to build new homes with a set maximum height of four or five stories.

In late May, municipal authorities suspended issuing licences for constructing, expanding, increasing stories, upgrading, or even supporting buildings in the cities of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Qalioubiya, and a handful of others. Now, all residential construction will be put on pause for six months until they can guarantee that they've been meeting these requirements.