Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Sunday, 1 November 2026, issued Decree No. 3351 of 2026 declaring the project to re-plan and develop an area of 17 feddans along 450 metres of the Nile Corniche in Damietta city a public benefit project. The decree was published in issue 44 (bis) of the Official Gazette.
Article 2 of the decree provides for the seizure “by direct execution” of the buildings and units needed to carry out the project, with the apparent owners’ names listed in the explanatory memo, the survey map and the lists attached to the decree. The decree was issued at the request of Damietta governorate and on the submission of the Minister of Local Development and Environment, and is based on Law No. 10 of 1990 on the expropriation of real estate for public benefit, Local Administration Law No. 43 of 1979, Building Law No. 119 of 2008, and Presidential Decree No. 304 of 2024 delegating certain powers to the prime minister.
The decree did not specify the number of families or units covered by the seizure, or the value of compensation. Law No. 10 of 1990 sets out the procedures for assessing compensation for expropriated properties, and allows owners to object to the assessment and to challenge it in court.
Photo: Phevos87 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
