Hundreds of Roadside Trees on the Hurghada Road Have Withered to 'Skeletons', Al-Masry Al-Youm Reports

Hundreds of trees planted along the Hurghada road have withered into bare "skeletons", according to Al-Masry Al-Youm, which says its reporting on the state of the planting prompted an urgent move by the Red Sea Governorate.

The paper frames the story as its own field documentation rather than an official announcement: it recorded the condition of the trees, and the governorate responded. What the report as summarised does not say is which stretch of road is affected, how long the trees have been dying, who holds the irrigation contract, or what the governorate's urgent response actually consists of — a replanting programme, a repair to the irrigation line, or an inquiry.

Roadside greenery in a desert coastal city is entirely dependent on irrigation. Trees on approach roads are typically kept alive by piped or tankered water and drip lines, which means a failure anywhere in that chain — a broken line, an unpaid contract, a diverted supply during peak summer demand — shows up in the trees within weeks rather than years.

The approach roads are also the first thing arriving visitors see between the airport and the resorts, which is why the state of the planting on them tends to become a public issue in Hurghada rather than a purely municipal one.

It is the second time in recent weeks that the same paper has reported on the upkeep of public works in the city: Hurghada News covered its earlier report that Hurghada's tourist promenade had been left to decay after millions were spent on it. Neither report puts a figure on what the planting or its maintenance cost.