Cairo building collapse highlights lax government oversight
In a continuation of the real estate collapse incidents in Egypt, a 10-story property collapsed March 27 in Cairo, resulting in five deaths and injuring many.
CAIRO — In the early hours on the morning of March 27, a building consisting of a basement, a ground floor and nine floors collapsed in al-Salam neighborhood in the Gesr al-Suez district east of Cairo, killing 24 people and wounding 25 others, with many still missing.
Following investigations, the Egyptian Public Prosecution said several violations caused the accident and ordered the arrest of the owner.
The violations include an unlicensed garment factory on the ground floor, and the removal of the walls of the ground floor in demolition and expansion works of the factory. The owner also added seven floors within a short period, which overloaded the building’s foundations causing the collapse.
Buildings converted into unlicensed factories and warehouses is a common practice in Egypt. Violations vary from building without a permit, noncompliance with the planning and building requirements in force, and the increase in the number of floors. The total number of such building violations is present in close to 20 million housing units, according to a government report issued in September 2020.
