Urban Regeneration for Historic Cairo

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/7B.Add,

2. Recalling Decision 33 COM 7B.55, adopted at its 33rd session (Seville, 2009),

3. Regrets that the State Party has not submitted the requested report on the state of conservation of the property as well as the progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the management plan;

4. Takes note of the information provided by the World Heritage Centre on the progress made in the implementation of the programme for the elaboration of a conservation/regeneration plan for Historic Cairo;

5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2012, a report on the state of conservation of the property and a progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the management plan, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.

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The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.58, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),

3. Notes the State Party's commitment to obtain a modification of the design of the Cairo Financial Centre so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape of the Citadel;

4. Takes note of the steps taken by the State Party for the preparation of a Management and Conservation plan for the property and welcomes its decision to involve the World Heritage Centre in this process, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies;

5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2011, a report on the state of conservation of the property and a progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the management plan, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011.

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The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 31 COM 7B.56, adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007),

3. Notes the State Party's commitment to revising the Cairo Financial Centre project so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape of the Citadel and requests that an alternative design be adopted and submitted, as soon as possible, to the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS for review ;

4. Considers that the following measures should be taken into account in the alternative design, as they constitute the minimum requirements in order to not jeopardize the Outstanding Universal Value of the property:

a) the height of the complex should be further reduced and shaped to allow the building to rise progressively from the level of the Salah Salem highway to approximately 31 metres in the Eastern part of the site (at a distance of 500 metres from the Citadel wall). This would reduce the visual impact of the new buildings on the Citadel;

b) the volume of the complex, now appearing as a huge mass of high rise buildings, should be broken up into several parts which would better balance the urban form and volumes of the Citadel;

c) the building elevations, now projected as continuous homogeneous horizontal glass strips, should be revised in order to harmonise with the surroundings and minimise visual disturbance.

5. Urges the State Party to implement the main recommendations of the 2002 Symposium report, subsequently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee, in particular to prepare a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations;

6. Requests the State Party to invite a high level mission headed by the Director of the World Heritage Centre to discuss these issues with the State Party's officials;

7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, a report on the implementation of the above recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.

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The World Heritage Committee,

1.       Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add,

2.       Recalling Decisions 29 COM 7B.42 and 30 COM 7B.50, adopted at its 29th (Durban, 2005) and 30th (Vilnius, 2006) sessions respectively,

3.       Takes note of the continuous efforts of the State Party to improve conservation of the property in the recent years;

4.       Urges the State Party to implement the main recommendations of the 2002 Symposium report, subsequently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, notably:

a)      To designate Islamic Cairo as a Special Planning District, and

b)      To prepare a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations;

5.       Also urges the State Party to put an immediate halt to the construction works of the Cairo Financial Centre close to the Citadel and to revise the project, once the plans and model have been provided for a thorough assessment;

6.       Requests the State Party, considering the historic value of the project area, to envisage an international consultation to define an alternative to the existing project, notably by limiting its height to the level of the highway, so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape;

7.       Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2008, a report on the implementation of the above recommendations for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008. 

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