Authorities cut off water and gas to a residential tower in Alexandria’s Smouha district on Sunday, escalating what residents and rights groups describe as a campaign of forced eviction to make way for a luxury hotel.
Residents of the Lou’louat Smouha building are calling for urgent legal intervention to stop what they call a “coercive displacement strategy” aimed at driving them from their homes under the guise of urban development.
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), employees from the Alexandria Water Company, accompanied by the company’s CEO and officers from Sidi Gaber police station, shut off the building’s drinking water without warning.
Officials claimed they were executing an order from the prime minister, but EIPR condemned the action as unlawful, calling it “an administrative weapon” used to pressure residents into vacating for a private tourism project.
The water shutoff followed earlier gas suspensions and threats to terminate other essential services. EIPR said these measures are part of a long-running conflict between residents and Solik Group, a real estate company which owns a neighboring gated compound. Some buildings in the area are also owned by the military’s Engineering Authority.
Residents say the pressure campaign has been building for more than three years. While some accepted low compensation offers to leave, others insist on staying and defending their legal rights.
The dispute stems from a 2019 decree by the prime minister—Decision 1820—which designated the widening of Al-Naql Wal Handasa Street into a 30-meter feeder road to the Mahmoudiya Axis as a public utility project.
The order was renewed in 2022 and again in 2025. But under Egypt’s Law No. 10 of 1990 on eminent domain, any expropriation decree expires after three years if not enforced. Residents have filed a legal challenge against the original decree at the Alexandria Administrative Court, with the first hearing set for today.
EIPR said residents hold sales contracts dating back to 1999, including unit numbers, floor plans, and payment terms—clear legal proof of residency.
Both residents and Solik Group's own website confirm plans to construct a hotel on the disputed site. If accurate, EIPR argues, it would invalidate the government's claim of public benefit and expose the project as a private land grab.
EIPR further noted that a neighboring gated compound lies along the same planning line—but has not been targeted—raising concerns of selective enforcement.
Alternative expansion routes exist, the group added, including demolishing non-residential structures across the street—an area devoid of tenants and far less socially disruptive.
Alexandria is no stranger to such displacement campaigns. In Toson district, residents filed a legal challenge last month to stop another prime ministerial decree expropriating their homes.
At the time, lawyer Mohamed Ramadan, who represents Toson’s residents, condemned the planned demolition of over 300 homes and places of worship. “This is not about public benefit,” he said. “This is a direct assault on the constitutional right to housing and on communities built over generations.”
On Sept. 2, Toson residents held a street meeting with lawyers to plan their response. The next day, flyers stating their refusal to leave were torn down by unidentified plainclothes men. Shortly after, Abdullah Mohamed, a community spokesperson, was arrested and charged by Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution with “joining a terrorist group.”
