Residents confront demolition team in Matrouh village days after conclusion of Qatari development deal

A man was injured on Wednesday in Semella, Alam al-Roum as residents sought to prevent the forced demolition of a house in the village, a resident told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.

The demolition was undertaken by a construction team that was accompanied by a police force.

The same source said the injured man was taken to a Marsa Matrouh hospital for treatment. Mada Masr found a short clip circulated on social media platforms showing a man lying injured on the ground, a group of police personnel, and a bulldozer nearby.

The source confirmed that the clip was taken at the site of the incident on Wednesday, and said security forces had instructed the assembled residents to delete any images and videos of the demolition from their phones.

Video circulating on social media, confirmed by Mada Masr to show the incident

Semella is a village in Alam al-Roum, an area slated for development over the coming years by Qatari Diyar, a real estate arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, under a deal worth billions announced by the government last week.

Alam al-Roum is one of several areas along Egypt’s northwestern coastline where the government has frozen any legal changes to land status, another Alam al-Roum resident told Mada Masr, adding that they were unaware of any prior demolitions in the area.

The resident who witnessed Wednesday’s incident said a police officer informed those who had gathered that all new construction in the village is currently banned.

The demolished house, they explained, had been standing for some time and was nearly complete — its owner had just poured the final layer of concrete days earlier.

“The man was building to marry off his son after collecting the proceeds from the olive harvest.” the resident said.  “What are we supposed to do now? Where will we marry off our children?”

While the state is currently negotiating compensation with residents to vacate the area, the witness speculated that Wednesday’s demolition was an attempt to block construction work that could raise the value of payouts owed to the residents.

Qatar is expected to begin transferring $3.5 billion to Cairo soon in exchange for development rights to the seven-kilometer stretch of coastal stretch in Alam al-Roum, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuly confirmed during Thursday’s signing ceremony in Egypt's New Capital.

Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told Reuters on Thursday that the $3.5 billion will be in the form of foreign direct investment.

Aside from the land value and revenues from various taxes and fees, Madbuly said Egypt will receive an in-kind share in approximately 397,000 square meters of residential units that are part of the development plans, valued at around $1.8 billion.