Gov’t begins demolishing houses in Maspero

The Housing Ministry and the Cairo Governorate will demolish the first building in the Maspero area next week as part of the plan to “develop” the area, Al Masry Al Youm reports. 936 families residing in the area were compensated and any petitions by the residents will be looked into thoroughly, Minister Moustafa Madbouli says. The ministry failed to reach a similar compensation scheme with shop owners in the area, but Madbouli says their shops will not be demolished until a fair agreement is reached.