Egypt, Arab Rep.

Dealing with Construction Permits in

Assiut - Egypt, Arab Rep.

Below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse. This includes obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain cadastral documents from the Survey department of the Assiut Governorate

The measurement specification documents include: cadastral delimitation statement, cadastral map signed by survey authority, and colored cadastral map taken by airplane for the construction site.
7 days EGP 110
* 2 Obtain technical approvals from an independent syndicate engineer

These documents include: approval of the colored cadastral map, approval of probe estimation, execution supervision certificate (cost EGP 250-350), approval of architectural drawings (cost EGP 150-200), accounting book, report confirming the quality of the building foundations (cost EGP 250 to 300), and acquiring a soil investigation report (cost EGP 1,000).
5 days EGP 1,750
3 Submit building permit application to Licensing department of the Alexandria governorate

The applicant must submit an extensive list of documents (included the ones described in the previous procedures) to the Licensing department. The list is as follows: a. Original ownership contract of the plot of land (notarized) b. Measurement specification statement from the Survey department c. Survey plan “air photography” specifying location. Such survey plan shall be approved by an accredited syndicate engineer d. Alignment license from the Urban planning department of Assiut governorate e. Probe estimation approved by a syndicated engineer f. Execution supervision certificate from a syndicate engineer or consultant engineer in case the building’s value is more than EGP 1,000,000.00 g. A receipt attesting the payment of the duty related to the examination of the drawings and details h. A general drawing of the site at a drawing scale of a minimum 1:1000 that indicate the boundaries and dimensions of the land of the site for which the permit is required, together with the total land area, and that part on which construction is requested, as well as the facing roads and their widths Ministerial Decree 92 of 2006, issued by the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban- Communities, reduced the number of files necessary to request a building permit. Consequently, the following documents are required: one file containing a copy of the architectural drawings in respect of the horizontal projections of floors and facades, a vertical section indicating the building height as to the road’s zero level and the structural drawings of the foundations, columns and the enforced ceilings together with copies of the structural calculation notes. All drawings shall be signed by an accredited engineer. Also, a report from a structural engineer must be submitted confirming that the structural skeleton and the foundations of the building will tolerate the required licensed works, are in compliance with safety provisions, will resist the natural disasters, are in accordance with the Egyptian construction standards, and illustrate the soil composition at the site. In case of any elevation or modification it is required to submit a report from a construction consultant accredited for no less than 25 years indicating that an inspection and a study of the existing buildings have proven that they will tolerate the applicable loads. Law 4 of 2006 reduced the fee to obtain a building permit from 1% of construction cost to 0.2%. Upon submitting the application file, building permit applicants in Assiut pay the permit fee at the cashier's office in the Governorate.
1 day EGP 2,000
4 Receive inspection and obtain project clearance from Civil defense bureau

Once the permit application is submitted to the District bureau, it is passed on the Civil defense bureau for clearance. The Civil defense bureau checks that the design drawings comply with national fire safety regulations. The clearance from the Civil defense bureau. The clearance takes between 1 to 2 months depending on the amount of follow up.
45 days No cost
* 5 Obtain project clearance from the Water authority


30 days No cost
* 6 Obtain project clearance from the Electricity authority


30 days No cost
* 7 Receive inspection prior to permit issuance from the Licensing office

An inspector from the municipality inspects the proposed construction site to verify the information included on the application.
1 day No cost
* 8 Pay real estate tax at the Tax authority


1 day EGP 30
9 Obtain building permit from the Licensing office

Law 106 of 1976 establishes a 30 day statutory time limit for issuing building permits, but these 30 days are counted only after all preliminary approvals are obtained. After the technical portion of the file is reviewed, the Licensing office of the Assiut governorate sends the file to the Social security administration and the company’s chosen insurance provider to ensure that the builder has purchased insurance for the project. After this check is completed, the builder can pick up its building permit from the governorate.
30 days No cost
10 Receive on-site inspection from the Licensing office

Inspections occur rarely in Assiut. The number of inspections a construction site receives during construction varies depending on the visibility of the project. For a smaller scale project such as a warehouse, inspectors may only visit the site once during construction. There are often informal fees paid to the inspector, however the standard official fee for each inspection is EGP 20.
1 day EGP 20
11 Receive final inspection by a committee from the Licensing office

Once construction is completed, a committee from the Licensing office makes a final inspection to certify that the warehouse conforms to the specifications outlined in the building permit.
1 day EGP 20
12 Obtain letters from Licensing office about water and sewage connection and about electricity cables installation

As described above the company must obtain approval letters from the municipality necessary for obtaining utility connections.
1 day No cost
13 Obtain certificate of natural disaster from an independent syndicate engineer

A supervising engineer issues the certificate of natural disaster. The cost reflects the fees for issuing the certificate.
7 days EGP 102
14 Obtain the water and sewerage connection from the Assiut water authority

The company submits an application to the Municipal department to obtain a letter to be provided to water company. Then, the company submits an application to the competent water authority, along with the original license and a copy of the building permit. Fees include approximately EGP 10,000 for the water connection and EGP 5,000 for the sewerage connection.
30 days EGP 15,000
* 15 Apply for an electricity connection with the Assiut electricity distribution company


1 day No cost
* 16 Receive electrical inspection

The Electricity authority inspects the construction site to provide an estimate for the cost.
1 day No cost
* 17 Obtain electricity connection

Connection fees include the laying down of the cables.
14 days EGP 15,000
* 18 Obtain phone connection from Telecom Egypt

The company should submit the following documents: a. Title deed for the unit, or lease contract if it is not owned by the applicant; b. Copy of applicant’s ID; c. Operation license for factories, stores, commercial stores and workshops.
14 days EGP 850
19 Register the building with the real estate registry

The company must submit a form as well as the building permit for the warehouse and the primary purchase contract of the land on which the warehouse had been built. Law 83 of 2006 amended Decree no. 70 for the year 1964 to decrease registration fees to a flat fee of EGP 2,000 instead of the fee being a percentage of the building value.
30 days EGP 2,000
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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