Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad has issued a decree seizing 37 land plots in Giza governorate to construct a five-kilometer highway corridor, after property owners refused to submit ownership documents or sign title transfer forms to the state.
The decree, published Tuesday in the Official Gazette, allows Giza Governorate to take land across Nahia, Saft El-Laban, and Osaim center to link the July 26 Corridor with Manshiyya Road.
The move underscores an accelerating nationwide push to prioritize major infrastructure expansion, often at the expense of private landholders who face tight legal deadlines and compulsory compensation procedures.
According to an explanatory note accompanying the decree, Awad acted on a July 6 request from Giza’s governor urging swift action before an Aug. 10 legal deadline.
The deadline was set under Prime Minister Decree No. 3121 of 2023, which designated the highway project for public utility.
Under Egypt’s Public Utility Expropriation Law, public utility designations legally expire if property transfer agreements or expropriation orders are not filed with the Real Estate Registration Office within three years of their official publication.
To satisfy statutory requirements, the Egyptian Survey Authority (ESA) issued an advisory report valuing total property compensation for affected landholders at approximately 540 million Egyptian pounds.
Once the decree is officially registered with the relevant Real Estate Registration Office, title to the properties will automatically transfer to the state, allowing local officials to deposit and disburse financial settlements to eligible property owners.
The Giza seizures reflect a broader surge in eminent domain takings for infrastructure and road networks across Egypt. A February study by urban research group Diwan Alomran recorded a sharp rise in private property expropriations throughout 2025.
Analyzing government public utility decrees, Diwan Alomran, estimated that state agencies expropriated nearly 2.5 million square meters of land in 2025 across multiple public works projects, directly impacting about 2,500 citizens.
Road and bridge projects accounted for more than 51% of all seized territory, followed by public transit, transportation, and sewage infrastructure according to the urban policy research institute.
Alexandria governorate led the country in land takings, with over 577,000 square meters expropriated. Cairo, Dakahliya, Qalyubiya, and Giza followed, each recording between 200,000 and 300,000 square meters of seized property.
Diwan Alomran highlighted several severe land disputes stemming from the policy, including in Alexandria’s Tosson district, where authorities cleared hundreds of homes to make way for a ring road. In another case, the government expropriated the Lou’louat Smouha residential tower, after residents underwent intense pressure to evacuate, eventually making room for a hotel.
