Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has announced that the old Attaba vegetable market in Cairo will be renovated under directives from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi after a devastating fire destroyed most of the market in June, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

In a meeting held to discuss the restoration of the market, Madbouly said that the president has given directives to restore the historical gates, façade and exterior of the old market, and that it should be sufficiently equipped to prevent future disasters.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem, Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal and deputy Ibrahim Abdel-Hady, head of the Urban Planning Authority Alaa Abdel-Fattah, and number of other officials.

In June, much of the market, which was opened in 1892 as Cairo's first European-style market, was destroyed in a blaze. The 52,000m2 market is located in Moski district and is owned by Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowment.

According to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, the governor of Cairo presented a report with a plan to reconstruct and develop the market.

The plan includes restoring the market’s walls and its metal roof, establishing a modern firefighting and fire alarm system, as well as rebuilding its electricity network, which was destroyed in the fire.

The report, which was based on the findings of a joint committee of officials from Cairo governorate and the religious endowments ministry, concluded that 180 shops were destroyed in the fire.

The governor said that the fire was due to the presence of unlicensed shops that violated building safety regulations, adding that there is currently coordination between the governorate and the religious endowments ministry to shut down unlicensed shops.