Decision 40 COM 7B.22

Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur (Egypt) (C 86)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 28 COM 15B.50, 29 COM 7B.45 and 31 COM 7B.61, adopted at its 28th (Suzhou, 2004), 29th (Durban, 2005) and 31st (Christchurch, 2007) sessions respectively,
3. Notes the delays in the implementation of conservation projects at the property, and the State Party's intention to submit shortly a Management Plan for the property; and urges the State Party to submit a detailed, integrated Management Plan taking into account the July 2015 ICOMOS Advisory mission recommendations;
4. Also urges the State Party to complete the Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for the property for examination by the World Heritage Committee;
5. Further urges the State Party to define the buffer zone for the property and submit a Minor Boundary Modification proposal, in accordance to Paragraph 164 and Annex 11 of the Operational Guidelines, and define the immediate and wider setting to further protect the integrity of the property;
6. Requests the State Party to remove the fill materials from the World Heritage property and refrain from further use of the property for solid waste purposes;
7. Takes notes with great concern of the rapid and intense urban growth of the Cairo Megalopolis and its related urban encroachment and traffic pressure that affect the property;
8. Also takes note that the alternative routes to the Ring Road to the North of the Giza Plateau and through the Maryoutiyah and Mansouriyah canals, developed by the State Party as recommended by the World Heritage Committee at its 19th session (Berlin, 1995), are no longer sufficient to address the traffic needs of the area surrounding the property, and that the State Party is seeking a viable traffic solution protecting the property while addressing the growing development pressures in the Cairo Megalopolis;
9. Further takes note of the recommendations of the ICOMOS Advisory mission, that an underground tunnel is the only acceptable solution for a road crossing the property, and requests the State Party, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, and before any irreversible decisions on road projects are made, the following documents:
   1. a detailed traffic management study and plan of the area,
   2. any projects for an underground tunnel inside the property or other road projects in its vicinity,
   3. a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for all of the above, including remote sensing and physical investigations of potential archaeological remains;
10. Notes the document on the proposed road cutting (referred to as an open tunnel) called the Mansouris Axis – Cairo Fayoum Ring road, and the related air quality report, submitted by the State Party, and acknowledges that proposals for an open road cutting across the property are not in line with the recommendations of the mission, as discussed with the State Party on site, and could have a major, irreversible adverse impact on the OUV of the property;
11. Also requests the State Party to provide information of urban or architectural developments that could potentially affect the OUV of the property, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
12. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017.