Immediate reconstruction of Al-Kosheh and Dar as-Salam

Minister of Housing and New Communities, Muhammad Ibrahim Soliman and Minister of Local Development, Mustafa Abdel Qader ended their tour late Monday to the villages of Al-Kosheh and Dar as-Salam.

Contractors were ordered to begin immediate reconstruction of the two villages in Upper Egypt which witnessed violence earlier this month.

Reconstruction will include the setting up of a new shopping and commercial center, schools, youth center, an Azhar institute damaged by the 1992 earthquake, and the widening of streets and sidewalks.

The two Ministers inspected conditions in the two villages: walked through their streets, talked with their residents and inquired over their needs. They also examined the damaged shops and kiosks.

Several residents of the two villages said the security situation was stable and calmness was restored. They referred to the necessity of overcoming the effects of the recent unrest and of putting an end to any foreign intervention attempts or extremism so as to prevent sectarian strife within one nation.

Governor of Sohag, Ahmad Abdel Aziz, who accompanied the two Ministers said Muslim and Christian residents have been living in fraternity and will live as such.

"President Mubarak is very interested in the villages of Upper Egypt, to which the government's expenditure during the past 20 years exceeds by far the spending of the past 200 years," he added.