Historic Cairo

• Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved);
• Inappropriate reconstruction works (issue resolved);  
• Rise of the underground water level;
• Dilapidated infrastructure;
• Neglect and lack of maintenance;
• Overcrowded areas and buildings;
• Uncontrolled development;
• Absence of a comprehensive Urban Conservation Plan;
• Absence of an integrated socio-economic revitalization plan linking the urban and the socio-cultural fabric of the city core.

Total amount provided to the property: Special Account for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Egypt: USD 44,000 allocated for the preparation of the project document for the Management Plan; USD 1,753,805 dollars for the Urban Regeneration Project of Historic Cairo.

At its 33rd session (Seville, 2009), the World Heritage Committee requested the State Party to submit a report on the state of conservation of the property as well as a progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the Management plan, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011. At the time of drafting the present document, the State Party had not transmitted a report.

In July 2010, the programme for the elaboration of a conservation/regeneration plan for Historic Cairo, requested by the World Heritage Committee for many years, was launched by the World Heritage Centre, through the Special Account for Egyptian Cultural Heritage at UNESCO and in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture.

The project focuses on:

a) the preparation of a Conservation Plan for the World Heritage property of Historic Cairo and its "buffer zones" which would include the Management Plan required by the Operational Guidelines;

b) the setting up of an institutional and legal framework to undertake and develop a sustainable urban conservation policy, promoting the coordination and collaboration amongst the different institutions, administrations and agencies which are concerned with the management of the property;

c) the creation of an appropriate and shared information platform for urban conservation.

The Plan will provide tools for protecting the heritage from further deterioration, favouring at the same time possible compatible interventions to improve the living conditions of the population and bring new activities and uses, associating the "conservation" with the "rehabilitation".

The progress achieved in the first nine months of activities are:

· First nucleous of the project team created;

· Delimitation of the Historic Cairo property done and Statement of Outstanding Universal Value drafted;

· Documentation collected and organised;

· Synthesis of the transformation of Cairo urban fabric drafted, 1948-2006;

· Consultation with the concerned administrations and institutions launched.

The recent political events have slowed the progress of activities due to the current unclear institutional framework. With the appointment of new official counterparts, the agreement of the Egyptian authorities on the whole project has to be confirmed.