Law No. 143 of 1981 regarding desert lands.

This Law consisting of 11 articles aims at governing the acquisition and ownership of desert land, defined as the land two kilometers outside the border of the city. Article 2 deals with the organization and procedures regarding desert lands for its management, exploitation and disposal (i) the Minister of Defense shall issue a decree delineating which areas of the desert lands are of strategic and military significance and may not be owned or used for non-military purposes; (ii) except for the military lands, the Minister concerned with land reclamation shall issue a decree delineating the areas included in the land reclamation plan and projects to be managed by the General Authority for Reconstruction and Agricultural Development Projects; (iii) lands located outside military zones or reclamation sites, shall be utilized and managed and disposed by New Urban Communities Authority in coordination with the Ministry of Defense; (iv) upon request of the Ministry of Defense, the Cabinet shall have the right to expropriate and temporarily seize desert lands, and buildings thereon, if necessary for State safety and external and internal national security and for preservation of its monuments and the owners shall be compensated. The main tasks of the Authority are listed in article 6 and they are (i) planning; (ii) conducting studies and preparing the necessary research for projects of reclamation and cultivation of lands; (iii) implementation, supervision and follow-up of these projects, after ascertaining that they are capable of reclamation and agricultural and economic exploitation, and that they can be used for irrigation from ground or surface water or sewage water after treatment.
The mines, quarries, mineral or petroleum resources that may be found in the land and the antiquities or historical heritage they contain must be preserved (art.3). The State undertakes the construction of the main public utilities, buildings and public services necessary for the establishment of land reclamation and cultivation projects, while the competent local authority may seek the assistance of the General Authority for Reconstruction and Agricultural Development Projects to establish projects for the reclamation and cultivation of desert lands under the jurisdiction of the localities (art.5). Certain limits are placed on the quantity of surface that may be owned by individuals, families, co-operatives, partnerships and corporations (art.11), and foreign partners and shareholders may be involved, provided that Egyptians own at least 51% of the capital. Furthermore, the lease of desert land for more than 50 years is also considered to be ownership