Egypt’s gov't prepares new housing project after frequent building collapses in Alexandria

CAIRO – 14 July 2025: Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly announced, Monday, that the government is preparing a new housing project to relocate residents of ramshackle buildings in Alexandria to safer places after the government registered approximately 7,500 dilapidated buildings vulnerable to collapse across the Mediterranean city.

During his inspection tour of Alexandria, Madbouly said that he has instructed the officials to allocate a piece of land to build 55,000 housing units as alternatives for the residents of 7,500 at-risk buildings.  

Over the past years, dozens of Egyptian have been killed due to the collapse of their buildings in this coastal city. This was attributed to certain factors including: the high sea level, erosion of shores, high level of underground water, illegal buildings, and negligence in periodic maintenance. Just one day ago, a man was killed and six other people were injured after their 4-story building collapsed in Al Attarin district, in central of Alexnadria. In April 2025, a lady was killed and three children were rescued when their house collapsed in El Gomrok neighborhood in Alexnadria. No official data showed how many builiding collapsed over the past decade in the city, which is home to more than 6 million people.

However, Madbouly’s comments were given five months after a scientific study warns of an increase in building collapses in Alexandria due to the impacts of climate change. In February, Egyptian climate scientist Essam Heggy stated in a scientific study recently published in the journal Earth's Future that there has been a significant increase in building collapses in Alexandria due to the effects of coastal erosion and sea level rise.  

The study, in which Heggy participated, warns that more than 7,000 buildings in the city are at risk, noting that the phenomenon of building collapses has accelerated over the past two decades. On May 30 and 31, a violent and unprecedented storm, accompanied with torrential rain, hit Alexandria; a man was killed when a balcony collapsed onto his car while his was inside. Several damages also were reported in cars, garages and other buildings.

Heggy warned again that the increasing intensity and shifting timing of storms in Alexandria are consequences of various climate change effects, which are also expected to contribute to more frequent building collapses.

شدة العواصف في الإسكندرية وتغير أوقاتها ناتج عدة تغيرات مناخية ستأدي أيضا لمزيد من انهيارات المباني. حذرنا مرارا وتكرارا ولكن مع الأسف مازلنا نتعامل مع العلم بالاستخفاف والتكذيب من اصوات تخادع متخذي القرار.
أحمّلهم المسؤولية.
يارب لطفك بالإسكندرية وأهلها.https://t.co/vizWfq9Oq3 pic.twitter.com/UVN7BfLycq

— Dr. Essam Heggy / د. عصام حجي (@essamheggy) May 31, 2025

Government spokesperson Mohamed Al-Homsi stated Monday evening during a phone interview on the "Al-Hayat Al-Youm" program (Al-Hayat TV) that the government recently conducted a comprehensive survey identifying around 7,500 dilapidated buildings. Additionally, several structures were found to require partial reconstruction, bringing the total number of housing units targeted for construction or replacement to approximately 60,000.

He confirmed that coordination is ongoing between the Alexandria Governorate and the Ministry of Housing to finalize plans for the new residential units, including the project's locations and technical specifications.

Corniche Development 

Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly said duir his inspection tour that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi instructed the government to develop and upgrade seafront properties along the Alexandria Corniche,. He noted that the work was immediately initiated on the project. 

He explained that implementing projects in accordance with the required standards and using materials resistant to the effects of various weather factors is quite essential, so that the government would not have to renovate the facades again within a short period.

The Prime Minister confirmed that work began immediately upon receiving the directive to assign the work to the Arab Contractors Company to implement the restoration work, with a specific timetable for project execution.