A leading Egyptian architect has condemned plans to demolish of a historic railway engineering building in central Cairo as part of a government-led redevelopment of Ramses Square, warning it signals a broader erasure of architectural heritage.
Yehia Alzeny, founder of the Diwan of Architects, said the building currently slated for demolition—known as the Egypt Railways Engineering Headquarters—was not only architecturally distinctive but held “immense historical value.”
“The building bears witness to Egypt’s advancement in a different era, when we had the world’s second-oldest railway line and managed it from this very building,” Alzeny told Al Manassa.
Constructed in 1908, the building was officially listed as architecturally significant under Law 144 of 2006, which protects structures of historical or aesthetic value. However, the Ministry of Housing in May 2024 issued a decree removing several properties in western Cairo from that protected list—including the headquarters at 6 El-Galaa Street.
Alzeny believes this was a deliberate move. “It was a preemptive step to make way for the square’s redevelopment,” he said.
The removal followed an earlier decision by former Cairo governor Khaled Abdel Aal, who in August 2023 reclassified Ramses Square and neighboring areas—including El-Sabtiya and Kobri El-Limon—as zones marked for “replanning.” The reclassification grants authorities wide leeway to alter existing infrastructure.
Ramses Square is more than a transportation hub; it is the symbolic heart of Cairo’s modernity. Anchored by Misr Station, Egypt’s central railway terminal, the square connects Cairo to cities across the country via a rail network that began in 1856—when Khedive Ismail signed an agreement with the British to build a line between Cairo and Alexandria, making Egypt the first country in Africa, and the second globally after Britain, to launch a railway.
Yet critics like Alzeny say the process has lacked public consultation. “We were stunned when we learned the building had been delisted in May,” he said. “There was no community dialogue, no transparency. It violates professional ethics.”
According to him, the railway HQ is not the only casualty. Three additional heritage buildings, including the historical Sabtiya Market, were also torn down to make room for a multi-level public transit hub.
The demolition also defies earlier visions for Ramses Square, Alzeny said. In 2009, Egypt held an international competition for its redevelopment, eventually selecting a proposal that preserved the railway building. But that plan was shelved without explanation.
“Instead, we got a project we don’t know the origins of—one that involves senseless destruction,” he added.
Despite government insistence that the new plan will enhance mobility and beautify the capital, experts question the tradeoff.
“You don’t build the future by bulldozing the past,” said Alzeny, who warned against transforming a historic urban district into “just another interchange.”
Current Cairo governor Ibrahim Saber has defended the redevelopment, saying the city “spares no effort to support initiatives that present Cairo as an open-air museum of civilization.”
But the demolition appears to contradict Egypt’s legal obligations under its own heritage protection laws.
Law 144 of 2006 prohibits the demolition of architecturally or historically significant buildings and mandates their upkeep. Cairo’s Khédivial core, where Ramses Square is located, is one of the capital’s few remaining 19th-century neighborhoods.
“We need a real public conversation about projects that reshape the identity of historic places,” Alzeny said. “Deleting heritage buildings for a highway ramp is professionally unacceptable.”
He added that the Diwan of Architects is preparing to formally petition Egypt’s Engineering Syndicate, urging it to take a public stance and consult with state agencies to stop the razing of the railway engineering building.
“As specialists, we can’t make top-down decisions without consulting the very people who live in and around these places,” Alzeny said.
The demolition decision was cheered by prominent businessman Naguib Sawiris, who wrote on X: “That building is decrepit and completely useless. It’s not even a heritage site. I started my career there—the elevator was always broken, and the stairs were falling apart.”
Al Manassa reached out to Governor Saber via phone and WhatsApp for comment but received no response by time of publication.
Ramses Square and the neighboring Sabtiya district are home to multiple buildings previously listed under Egypt’s heritage protection laws. These laws restrict demolition, mandate public consultation, and require official maintenance of registered buildings.
