Phase 1 of buffer zone with Gaza Strip to cost LE500 million: governor
The creation of the buffer zone following a massive terrorist attack in
October, required to government to evacuate residents living along Egypt's
border with the Gaza Strip and to compensate them for lost land
Ahram Online , Wednesday 24 Dec 2014
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/118768/Egypt/Politics-/Phase--of-buffer-zone-with-Gaza-Strip-to-cost-LE-m.aspx


The governor of North Sinai, General Sayed Harhour, said that the
government paid LE234 million in compensation to families in the 595 homes
impacted by creation of the buffer zone along Rafah's border line.

General Harhour explained to Ahram Online that total compensation
expenditures will reach as much as LE500 million after they compensate the
remaining 837 homes affected by the first phase of the buffer zone’s
construction.

"The second phase that will begin soon along 500 more metres includes even
more homes," he confirmed.

The government compensated property owners at a rate of LE100 per metre of
open land and LE700-1,200 per per metre of land lost as a result of the
destruction of homes. LE900 in emergency aid for each evacuated residential
unit were also provided.

A state of emergency was declared in the border governorate of North Sinai
in late October, following a massive militant attack in the North Sinai town
of Sheikh Zuweid where more than 30 army personnel were killed and a few
dozens injured. The attack was later claimed by Ansar Beit El-Maqdis, a
group which pledged loyalty to the Islamic State in early November.

The October attack led the armed forces to announce the two-phased creation
of a buffer zone, along 1,500 metres of the Egypt’s border with the Gaza
Strip.