As many as 5 mn construction workers are currently without work as the sector waits on a new set of building and planning criteria, head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce’s Building Materials Division Ahmed El Zeiny tells Al Mal. The division is lobbying the government to fast-track the new framework to allow construction to resume, particularly as small players in the industry are feeling the pinch the most, El Zeiny said.

Background: The government had announced a six-month construction ban last year in a crackdown on building code violations after getting a sharper teeth to clamp down on illegal construction when the House of Representatives passed the Unified Building Code in March 2020. Last we heard, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly presented last month the proposed building and planning criteria to the House Local Administration and House Housing committees. The new regulations will cover everything from building height, ratios, and usage to urban coordination and hoops builders need to jump through before they can start construction.