The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 31 COM 7B.56, adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007),
3. Notes the State Party's commitment to revising the Cairo Financial Centre project so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape of the Citadel and requests that an alternative design be adopted and submitted, as soon as possible, to the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS for review ;
4. Considers that the following measures should be taken into account in the alternative design, as they constitute the minimum requirements in order to not jeopardize the Outstanding Universal Value of the property:
a) the height of the complex should be further reduced and shaped to allow the building to rise progressively from the level of the Salah Salem highway to approximately 31 metres in the Eastern part of the site (at a distance of 500 metres from the Citadel wall). This would reduce the visual impact of the new buildings on the Citadel;
b) the volume of the complex, now appearing as a huge mass of high rise buildings, should be broken up into several parts which would better balance the urban form and volumes of the Citadel;
c) the building elevations, now projected as continuous homogeneous horizontal glass strips, should be revised in order to harmonise with the surroundings and minimise visual disturbance.
5. Urges the State Party to implement the main recommendations of the 2002 Symposium report, subsequently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee, in particular to prepare a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations;
6. Requests the State Party to invite a high level mission headed by the Director of the World Heritage Centre to discuss these issues with the State Party's officials;
7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, a report on the implementation of the above recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/8D,
2. Recalling Decisions 30 COM 11A.2 and 31 COM 11A.2, adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006) and 31st (Christchurch, 2007) sessions respectively,
3. Recalls that, as decided at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007) by Decision 31 COM 11A.2, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies will not be able to examine proposals for minor or significant modifications to boundaries of World Heritage properties whenever the delimitation of such properties as inscribed is unclear;
4. Congratulates States Parties in the European Region and the States Parties of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia on the excellent work accomplished in the clarification of the delimitation of their World Heritage properties and thanks them for their efforts to improve the credibility of the World Heritage List,
5. Takes note of the clarifications of property boundaries and sizes provided by the following States Parties in the European and Arab Regions in response to the Retrospective Inventory, as presented in the Annex of Document WHC-08/32.COM/8D:
- Armenia: Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin;
- Austria: Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg; Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn; Hallstatt-Dachstein-Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape;
- Belgium: Flemish Béguinages;
- Bulgaria: Boyana Church; Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak; Rila Monastery; Ancient City of Nessebar;
- Croatia: Old City of Dubrovnik; Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian; Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Poreč;
- Czech Republic: Historic Centre of Telč; Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora; Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape; Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž;
- Denmark: Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church; Roskilde Cathedral;
- Egypt: Memphis and its Necropolis - the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur; Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis; Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae; Historic Cairo; Abu Mena; Saint Catherine Area;
- Estonia: Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn;
- Germany: Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square; Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl; Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin; Town of Bamberg;
- Greece: Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae; Mount Athos; Medieval City of Rhodes; Archaeological Site of Mystras; Delos;
- Hungary: Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue; Old Village of Hollókö and its Surroundings; Millenary Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma and its Natural Environment; Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (presented jointly with Slovakia);
- Ireland: Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne; Skellig Michael;
- Italy: Historic Centre of San Gimignano; City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto; Historic Centre of Siena; Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta; The trulli of Alberobello; Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna; Historic Centre of the City of Pienza; Residences of the Royal House of Savoy; Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua; Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto); Costiera Amalfitana; Archaeological area of Agrigento; Su Nuraxi di Barumini; Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia;
- Latvia: Historic Centre of Riga;
- Luxembourg: City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications;
- Morocco: Medina of Marrakesh; Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou; Archaeological Site of Volubilis;
- Poland: Cracow's Historic Centre; Historic Centre of Warsaw; Old City of Zamość; Medieval Town of Torún; Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork;
- Portugal: Monastery of Batalha; Cultural Landscape of Sintra; Prehistoric Rock-Art Sites in the Côa Valley;
- Romania: Danube Delta;
- Slovakia: Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity; Spišský Hrad and its Associated Cultural Monuments; Vlkolínec; Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (presented jointly with Hungary);
- Spain: Garajonay National Park;
- Tunisia: Ichkeul National Park;
- Ukraine: Kiev: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra;
- United Kingdom: Durham Castle and Cathedral; Ironbridge Gorge; Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd; Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church; Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church; Maritime Greenwich;
6. Requests the European and Arab States Parties which have not yet answered the questions raised in 2005, 2006 and 2007 within the framework of the Retrospective Inventory to provide all requested clarifications and documentation as soon as possible and by 1 December 2008 at the latest.
Draft Decision: 32 COM 7B.58
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 31 COM 7B.56, adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007),
3. Notes the State Party’s commitment in revising the Cairo Financial Centre project so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape of the Citadel and requests that an alternative design be adopted and submitted, as soon as possible, to the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS for review ;
4. Urges the State Party to implement the main recommendations of the 2002 Symposium report, subsequently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee, in particular to prepare a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations ;
5. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, a report on the implementation of the above recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.
