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Egypt’s Minister of Local Development, Dr. Manal Awad, and Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, signed a joint cooperation protocol aimed at regulating the settlement of construction violations on lands owned by the General Authority for Agricultural Reform across Egypt’s governorates. The protocol seeks to regularize the status of these lands in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 187 of 2023 on the settlement of certain construction violations and its executive regulations.
The signing ceremony took place at the Cabinet headquarters, with the attendance of Eng. Magdy Abdullah, Head of the Sector for Authorities and Affairs of the Minister’s Office, and Dr. Hassan El-Fouly, Head of the General Authority for Agricultural Reform.
A Step Toward Streamlining Land Regularization
In her remarks, Dr. Manal Awad praised the collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to regularize the ownership of lands belonging to the Agricultural Reform Authority, emphasizing how it would ease the lives of citizens, stabilize their social conditions, and contribute to state revenues. It would also help eliminate urban chaos and maximize the potential of private citizens’ real estate assets.
She also expressed her eagerness for the protocol’s implementation across all governorates, especially following the decision by the Prime Minister to extend the deadline for submitting reconciliation applications to the relevant administrative authority under the construction violations settlement law, providing an additional six months for citizens to file.
Dr. Awad highlighted that this protocol is a culmination of the efforts and coordination between the Ministry of Local Development and other government entities responsible for land regularization and settlement of construction violations. She also noted that this initiative follows the Ministry’s ongoing work to simplify procedures for citizens and streamline the reconciliation process by connecting the relevant authorities to the electronic reconciliation system, thus accelerating the procedures for land settlement. This includes a previous protocol signed with the Ministry of Awqaf last month and ongoing coordination with several other ministries to sign additional cooperation agreements. These efforts align with the directives of the political leadership and the Prime Minister to finalize the settlement process and protect the rights of citizens and the state.
In this regard, Minister Alaa Farouk confirmed that, under the new protocol, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the General Authority for Agricultural Reform, will take all necessary steps to regularize land ownership by finalizing cases of unauthorized land use (often referred to as “informal land occupation”) in line with existing laws.
For cases where the value of the land exceeds one million pounds, the Minister of Agriculture will refer the matter to the Minister of Finance for direct negotiation.
Farouk also pointed out that the High Evaluation Committee at the General Authority for Government Services will assess the financial value of the land before final approval by the Cabinet, ensuring that the process is transparent and in the best interest of both the state and citizens.
Under the protocol, the Directorates of Agricultural Reform in the governorates (19 directorates in total) are required to integrate with the electronic reconciliation system for construction violations and status regularization. This system will be used to facilitate and expedite the submission and processing of reconciliation applications related to agricultural lands.
This protocol is part of the ongoing government effort to streamline and expedite the settlement of building violations, while also regularizing the status of lands in the possession of the Agricultural Reform Authority. The agreement aims to benefit citizens by facilitating the regularization of their properties, stabilizing their living conditions, and providing them with a legal framework for ownership. At the same time, it supports the state by ensuring that the appropriate fees are collected and that the land’s value is properly assessed and utilized.
With this protocol, Egypt is making strides toward formalizing its approach to land use, ensuring a more organized and equitable future for both the state and its citizens.
