41178 v 2 ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT TOWARDS AN URBAN SECTOR STRATEGY Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized THE WORLD BANK June 2008 Report No.: 44506-EG Arab Republic of Egypt Urban Sector Note VOLUME TWO TOWARDS AN URBAN SECTOR STRATEGY JUNE, 2008 Sustainable Development Department Middle East and North Africa Region i Document of the World Bank ii CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective June, 2008) Currency Unit = Egyptian Pound (LE) Egyptian Pounds 5.33 = US$1 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS BOT Build, Operate, and Transfer CAPMAS Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics CDA Community Development Association CDS City Development Strategy EEAA Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency ERA Egyptian Railways Authority ESA Egyptian Survey Authority GDP Gross Domestic Product GOE Government of Egypt GOPP General Organization for Physical Planning GTZ German Technical Cooperation LE Livres Egyptiens MENA Middle East and North Africa MFA Mortgage Finance Authority MHUUD Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Development MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOF Ministry of Finance MOI Ministry of Investment MOLD Ministry of Local Development NCUPD National Council for Urban Planning and Development NHP National Housing Program NGO Non-governmental Organization NUCA New Urban Communities Authority USAID United States Agency for International Development Ziman The official boundary between agricultural and desert land Vice President: Daniela Gressani Country Manager/Director: Emmanuel Mbi Sector Director: Laszlo Lovei iii Acting Sector Manager: Jonathan Walters Task Team Leader: Ahmed A. R. Eiweida iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................viii Section 1: Introduction And Executive Summary ........................................................................... 1 1.1 Background............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Main Findings and Recommendations ................................................................................. 2 10. The main findings and recommendations of Volume II can be summarized as follows: 5 Informal Urban Development in Egypt ..................................................................................... 10 Section 2: Towards Appropriate Planning And Building Standards For Urban Egypt ................. 14 2.1 Background......................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Objectives of GOPP’s Tahzim Initiative............................................................................. 15 2.3 The Challenge is in the Details........................................................................................... 16 2.4 What are the Realities on Fringe Agricultural Land? ......................................................... 17 2.5 What are the Needs of Aashwa’i Inhabitants?..................................................................... 20 2.6 Strategic Approach ............................................................................................................. 22 2.7 Introduction of Realistic but Variable Planning Standards:................................................ 23 2.8 General Guidelines for Detailed Planning and Layouts in Tahzim Areas on Agricultural Land ........................................................................................................................................... 24 2.9 Outstanding Issues and Next Steps..................................................................................... 25 Section 3:The Dynamics Of Peri-Urban Areas Around Greater Cairo.......................................... 27 3.1 Introduction, Objectives and Information Sources ............................................................. 27 3.2 Greater Cairo Context......................................................................................................... 27 3.3 Definition of Peri-urban Areas of Greater Cairo ................................................................ 30 3.4 The Peri-urban Populations and their Rapid Growth.......................................................... 31 3.5 Nature of Peri-urban Expansion: Settlement Patterns, Quadrants and Corridors ............... 34 3.6 Economic Activities in Peri-urban Areas ........................................................................... 37 3.7 Crucial Role of Public Transport in Peri-urban Areas........................................................ 39 3.8 Land Markets and Land Management ................................................................................ 40 3.9 Poverty and Living Conditions in Peri-urban Areas........................................................... 41 3.10 Environmental Problems and Conflicts in Peri-urban Areas............................................ 43 3.11 Local Government Institutions, their Capacities, and Jurisdictional Problems ................ 43 3.12 Government Planning and Investment in Peri-urban Areas.............................................. 44 3.13 What is Spurring Growth in Peri-urban Areas? Why Are These Areas So Attractive to Inhabitants of Greater Cairo?..................................................................................................... 45 3.14 Peri-urban Problems and Challenges: Infrastructure and Service Delivery..................... 46 3.15 Towards a Policy Framework for Peri-urban Areas of Greater Cairo .............................. 47 Section 4: Changing New Town Policies Towards Economic Success. Case Study: Sixth October New Town ..................................................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Introduction, Objectives and Information Sources ............................................................. 50 4.2 Egypt’s New Towns Initiative: History and Planning......................................................... 50 4.3 Meeting the Population Targets.......................................................................................... 52 4.4 Which New Towns are Relatively More Successful and Why? ......................................... 57 4.5 Which New Towns Have Been Less Successful and Why? ............................................... 59 4.6 Case Study - Sixth of October City: Background and History ........................................... 63 v 4.7 Six of October: Main Causes of Relative Success but Unfulfilled Promise...................... 66 4.8 Current Strategies for Revitalizing Six of October............................................................. 71 4.9 McKinsey’s Proposals for Sixth of October........................................................................ 73 4.10 Continuing Weaknesses of Six of October and Policy Implications ................................ 74 4.11 Policy Implications for Other New Towns ....................................................................... 78 Section 5: Informal Urban Development In Egypt........................................................................ 80 5.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 80 5.2 Definitions: What is Informal Urban Development in Egypt? ........................................... 80 5.3 Information on Informal Settlements in Egypt ................................................................... 80 5.4 Morphology of Informal Areas and Informal Settlement Typologies ................................ 82 5.5 Informal Construction and the Quality of Informal Housing ............................................. 85 5.6 Who Are the Residents in Informal Urban Areas? ............................................................. 87 5.7 Economic Life in Informal Urban Areas ............................................................................ 88 5.8 What is the Extent of Informal Housing As a Share of the Total Urban Housing Stock?.. 88 5.9 Magnitude of the Production of Informal Housing............................................................. 89 5.10 Means of Financing Informal Housing............................................................................. 91 5.11 Informal Housing Market Dynamics ................................................................................ 91 5.12 The Causes of Informal Settlements................................................................................. 92 5.13 Government Policies Towards Informal Areas................................................................. 93 5.14. Recent Trends in Informal Settlements............................................................................. 96 5.15 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations .................................................................... 97 Section 6: Tracking Urban Issues Which Have Evolved Over The Last Year .............................. 99 6.1 Urban Planning and Building Legislation........................................................................... 99 6.2 GOPP Strategic Planning and Information Initiatives........................................................ 99 6.3 Urban Finance and Local Resource