An inventory and analysis of 2025 expropriation decisions by research organization Diwan Alomran revealed an accelerating pace of encroachment on private property, with the expropriation of about 2.5 million square meters for state projects, resulting in direct harm to about 2,500 citizens.
Geographically, the report found the most affected governorate to be Alexandria, where over 570,000 square meters were expropriated.
In December 2025, owners of the Loulouat Al-Iskandariya tower in Smouha described dispute after Alexandria Water Company staff, accompanied by Sidi Gaber police, cut off drinking water to implement a prime ministerial decision to expropriate the tower for a tourist hotel. Residents are also appealing the decision.
Earlier in September, residents of Toson in the city’s east had said a new ring road route prompting a similar expropriation decision covering 260 homes, four mosques, and a church within one block where more than 5,000 people live.
Security forces arrested residents’ spokesperson Abdullah Mohamed after objections to displacement, and the Supreme State Security Prosecution accused him of spreading false news, misusing a social media account, and financing a terrorist group. Residents are still resisting the order in the courts.
Returning to the report, Cairo was the second-most affected governorate, with about 356,000 square meters expropriated, followed by Dakahlia, Qalyoubia, and Giza with areas ranging between 200,000 and 300,000 square meters.
The report pointed to a “transparency gap” in official data related to expropriation decisions, stressing that it was impossible to determine precise areas in some major decisions, such as Decision No. 3754 for 2025 in Alexandria, which impacted 861 people without clearly delineating the expropriated area. The report said the true impact of those decisions may exceed the monitored figures by a wide margin.
Appetite for roads and bridges
The report analyzed the purposes the state cited for expropriation and found that the “roads and bridges” sector took the largest share, 51.5% of the total area, through 14 decisions covering eight governorates to connect national routes and widen roads.
The transport and communications sector recorded about 8.3% of the total area, while areas expropriated for sewage projects reached about 7.5%. On a smaller scale, the remaining areas were distributed across educational buildings at about 4.4%, hospitals at less than 1%, and public garages at no more than 0.5% of the total expropriated area.
Over the course of the year, the issuance of decisions rose in sudden spikes. After a relatively quiet start in January and February, July brought a surge totaling 645,000 square meters. Activity then peaked in October and November, which together accounted for more than 1 million square meters and affected about 1,750 citizens.
The report also identified the agencies most often requesting expropriation. The Ministry of Local Development topped the list, followed by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, and the Giza Governorate.
The Diwan Alomran team pointed to severe difficulties it faced in the inventory process due to the quality of the published data. Some maps and planning drawings attached to the decisions were “faint or erased,” or had illegible lines, which prevents citizens from exercising their right to object or appeal on the basis of precise information.
To support the right to knowledge, the team announced it had included all of these data in an interactive map, the Forced Eviction Observatory, which enables researchers and citizens to track the locations of disputes, the type of projects, and the responsible entities, to ensure community oversight over the expropriation mechanism that touches a core constitutional rights of citizens.
Diwan Alomran studies development and urbanization through social, economic, and environmental lenses to support sustainable, equitable urban policy. It promotes stronger urban governance and the right to the city, including adequate housing, essential services, and public spaces, and opposes exclusion and forced evictions. It also supports resource-efficient, climate-resilient planning and residents’ participation in shaping cities.
The analysis was based on public-benefit expropriation decisions published in the Official Gazette during 2025. It aimed to provide a quantitative and geographic reading of expropriation decisions based on official documents, without assessing the projects or their feasibility. Instead, it focused on patterns of expropriation, the size of expropriated areas, the number of those affected, and their distribution across different sectors.
