By Heba Fouad and Jaidaa Taha
CAIRO (Reuters) -With whiplash traffic and obstacles ranging from potholes to donkey carts, Cairo’s roads have never been for the faint of heart. But now drivers must contend with another hazard: A proliferation of flashy, mismatched billboards vying for their already strained attention.
The number of large billboards lining Cairo’s roads – already numerous – has more than doubled over the past six years, from roughly 2,500 in 2019 to around 6,300 today, according to AdMazad, an advertising and media analytics company.
That’s more than 30 per square kilometre of inhabited area, without even counting the new, flashing digital ads, which have grown more than tenfold over the same period to more than 300 today.
“There’s nowhere left on the street that doesn’t have ads,” Cairo resident Ahmed Adel said as he drove through one of the city’s high-end residential and commercial districts.
The surge in advertising can be traced largely to the rapid expansion of Egypt’s transport network. Since taking power in 2014, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has poured billions of dollars into new roads and bridges which now criss-cross the capital.
The ads lining these roads hawk an endless array of detergents, fast food and luxury real estate developments, often with bright LED displays that drivers like Adel complain strain their eyes at night.
The industry is also becoming an increasingly important source of state revenue, according to Ahmed Afify, head of business development at MOT Investment and Development, a Transport Ministry investment company.
Revenues from “out-of-home” advertising, which includes billboards and transit ads, grew by more than 50% in 2024, reaching about 6.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($130 million), AdMazad data shows.
That money goes largely to the state treasury via the Transport Ministry or its affiliated entities, Afify said. Ad prices vary by location and often increase as competing brands bid for strategic spots, he said.
Some drivers find the billboards an amusing diversion while stuck in traffic, or an effective marketing tool. But others find them a stressful addition to their commutes.
Psychotherapist Khaled Salaheldin pointed to the psychological toll they might take at times of financial strain – an increasing reality in Egypt after years of inflation and subsidy cuts.
“When I am being constantly exposed to advertising and idealized lifestyles, it leads to a comparison that makes me feel inadequate and inferior,” he said.
On Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting to discuss standards for billboards and other ads, saying there should be more regulation to ensure ads “preserve the urban fabric,” “uphold aesthetic values” and “respect societal norms.”
(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Heba Fouad in Cairo, editing by Alexander Dziadosz and Andrew Heavens)
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