Construction underway in historic Zohriya Garden, environmental group takes transparency fight to court

Concrete has already been poured inside Zohriya Garden, yet key details of the redevelopment of one of Cairo’s oldest botanical parks remain undisclosed despite months of public backlash.  Sources informed of the garden’s affairs told Mada Masr that construction activity inside the historic site has already begun and is moving ahead at a rapid pace. The opacity surrounding the project is now the subject of a lawsuit set to be heard on July 5 by an urgent matters court.  Brought by the Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights, an environmental legal advocacy group, the case seeks to compel the government to disclose what is being built inside the garden, who is carrying out the work and whether the project complies with environmental and heritage protection regulations. The move follows months of controversy sparked by a leaked redevelopment proposal that envisioned restaurants, recreational facilities and a boutique hotel within the grounds of one of Cairo’s oldest botanical gardens. The plans conflicted with the National Organization for Urban Harmony’s guidelines governing heritage gardens, which limit construction to two percent of a site’s total area. Public pushback has done little to slow down implementation. In mid-May, white survey markings appeared across planted areas. Only two weeks later, construction caravans were brought onto the park and concrete slabs were poured inside the grounds, according to the sources informed of the garden’s affairs and photos obtained by Mada Masr.  The visible work points to an encroachment on the garden’s vegetation, despite the earliest assurances by state entities overseeing the development that the project would expand its agricultural areas and that plans were “being reassessed to ensure the preservation of the trees and the garden’s overall appearance.” On Monday, MP Dalia al-Saadany called on the government to explain reports that some of the garden’s rare and historic trees have already been removed, demanding disclosure of the project’s environmental and heritage assessments. Adding to concerns over accountability, sources informed of the garden’s affairs told Mada Masr last week that implementation is now being handled by Abyar for Real Estate — the latest in a shifting set of corporate identities linked to the project. EFER head Ahmed al-Seidy told Mada Masr on Tuesday that the primary aim of the legal action is to allow a court-appointed expert from the Justice Ministry to inspect and document ongoing works as a basis for potential future litigation before the State Council or other judicial bodies. He described the case as a “precautionary legal measure.” The lawsuit, brought before the Abdeen Court for Urgent Matters, also calls for access to the garden’s development plan and verification of its compliance with environmental requirements, particularly the obligation to conduct an environmental impact assessment. It also seeks clarification on adherence to NOUH guidelines governing heritage parks, including the two percent construction cap. Seidy said the lack of official disclosure regarding the development company and implementation procedures prompted the legal action. “When developments like this take place … there is no responsible party we can speak to, and we don’t know who did what or what happened,” he told Mada Masr. The EFER’s lawsuit follows months of unsuccessful attempts to obtain information about the project through official channels. Seidy told Mada Masr that the organization submitted a complaint to the Cabinet in September, shortly after the leaked proposal became public. The complaint requested that work not be initiated until the details of the project were disclosed and environmental assessments conducted. When a response arrived eight months later, it maintained that the complaint “did not involve direct personal harm to the complainant,” while saying the group’s concern for public resources is “worthy of consideration and appreciation.” The response added that state institutions work to preserve public assets while maximizing their economic returns “that benefit the state’s general budget,” according to a post by Seidy. Seidy told Mada Masr the reply “made light” of the complaint and argued it failed to address its substance or engage with questions surrounding the project’s legality, environmental implications or compliance with heritage regulations. He added that it also ignored provisions in the Environmental Law guaranteeing citizens and environmental organizations the right to pursue such complaints. The redevelopment of Zohriya forms part of a broader state push to generate revenue from public assets and develop government-owned gardens and parks.  Former Zohriya officials and head of the Zamalek Association for Development Nadra Zaki told Mada Masr earlier this year that the historic garden was granted by the presidency under a 20-year usufruct arrangement to a company known as Ein al-Benaa. The first public mention of the developer came during a Culture Ministry-sponsored competition in May of last year to redesign Zohriya’s logo and visual identity. Across the ministry’s announcements, however, the company’s identity appeared inconsistently. In some, it appeared as Ein al-Banaa, in others, Ein Development. The logos were also different. The company had no readily identifiable public presence, website, headquarters or announced projects beyond Zohriya. Its chief executive, Abdallah Khalil, only emerged publicly during the ministry’s ceremony to announce the competition winners. According to his LinkedIn profile, Khalil has co-founded three development companies. Of those, Babylon Developments is the only one with a substantial public profile. The other two — Ein and Abyar for Real Estate — were both founded in 2023. Now, according to two sources informed of the garden’s affairs speaking to Mada Masr earlier in June, it is Abyar rather than Ein that is expected to carry out the development project. The shifting identities only deepen concerns over a project whose final plans remain undisclosed. As urban researcher Ibrahim Ezz Eddin previously told Mada Masr, companies attached to state asset developments frequently serve as intermediary vehicles, obscuring responsibility. “A large company wouldn’t risk officially being involved in a project that lacks transparency,” he said, explaining that such established firms often rely on low-profile entities or subcontractors — entities the government, he argued, allows to keep details private. While lawyers seek answers in court and parliamentarians demand disclosure, activity inside Zohriya has picked up pace in recent weeks. On May 18, photos obtained by Mada Masr showed survey markings cutting across planted areas and running close to some trees. According to a source inside the garden who spoke to Mada Masr at the time, the markings were in preparation for the start of construction works. Survey markings in Zohriya, May 18. Source: @alzohriya_park via Instagram. Just over two weeks later, at around 3 am on June 2, caravans were brought into the garden, one of the sources informed of the garden’s affairs told Mada Masr. Shortly afterward, personnel involved in construction operations arrived on site. The two sources informed of the garden’s affairs told Mada Masr that heavy equipment was moved into areas not open to the public. Photos Mada Masr obtained at the time showed concrete slabs already poured inside the garden. By the time the Abdeen court hears the EFER case next month, the transformation of Zohriya may already be underway. Established in the 19th century as a botanical acclimatization garden, the site houses historic greenhouses, mature tree cover and hundreds of documented plant species. For more than a century, it served as a center for horticultural research and plant propagation before opening to the public in 2021. Since plans for the redevelopment surfaced, garden visitors and civil society groups have mobilized to launch awareness campaigns about the garden’s scientific, historical and environmental significance. Many of the visitors who spoke to Mada Masr earlier this year said their advocacy stems from a broader demand for access to Cairo’s shrinking green spaces.The post Construction underway in historic Zohriya Garden, environmental group takes transparency fight to court first appeared on Mada Masr.