Imbaba Urban Upgrading Project

For many years, the development of Imbaba has been informal and spontaneous. Its current structures are overloaded due to a rapid population growth. The Imbaba Urban Upgrading Project builds upon the on-going efforts by the Giza Governorate to convert a former airport in Imbaba into a vibrant urban centre. It aims to show how a major change in land use and urban development in a complex and difficult context can help to improve the future not only of Imbaba’s inhabitants, but also of Cairo as a whole.

Project snapshot

The main objective of the Imbaba Urban Upgrading Project is to upgrade urban facilities, provide new job opportunities, revenue-creating activities and public spaces. The project aims to strengthen the integration of Imbaba and al-Warraq, two of the most populated and unplanned urban areas of Egypt, with the rest of Greater Cairo. In addition, the project aims to explore the feasibility of a development plan for the urban zone to the west of the Ring Road, which has been strongly impacted by the expansion of irregular settlements.

The Imbaba Urban Upgrading Project was labelled by the UfM on 2 June 2014, and o­fficially launched on the occasion of the Second UfM Ministerial Conference on Sustainable Urban Development, held in Cairo, Egypt on 21 and 22 May 2017.

It is the first flagship project to be carried out within the scope of the Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI). UPFI is funded by the European Commission and is aimed at promoting and developing sustainable and innovative urban projects that serve as best practice examples and that are potentially replicable in the region.

The project will positively impact the lives of around 2 million inhabitants of the Imbaba and al-Warraq neighbourhoods within the Giza Governorate

The project is part of a wider integrated urban regeneration project launched by the Governorate of Giza and plans are now underway for the development of the Kawmeya sector, including the Imbaba and al-Warraq neighbourhoods.

Following the transformation of the old Imbaba airport site into a mixed urban zone, two public service centres and green spaces for leisure will be created. Moreover, neighbouring zones will be developed through restoration of buildings, improved pedestrian and road connections, and upgrading of essential services (water, energy, sanitation, etc.).

UPFI is managed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), in liaison with the European Commission (EC) and under the umbrella of the UfM Secretariat. The German bank KfW, the French Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are closely associated and other IFIs and investors such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) and La Caixa have expressed interest.

About the promoter and partner institutions

The Giza Governorate is the promoter and driving force behind the Project. Partner institutions that have helped to promote it include Cairo University’s Department of Architecture and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

More information