(Photo Courtesy of Cityscape conference\File )
Minister of Housing Mostafa Madbouly declared that all negotiations on mega-projects in the real estate sector will be suspended until the completion of the projects announced at the Economic Summit in March.
He further stated, during the Arab Construction and Projects Forum on Sunday, that the ministry seeks to strike a balance between the supply of lands and the demand of investors to avoid increasing the prices of lands.
Madbouly added that the ministry has achieved EGP 22bn in real estate investments. In addition, the government is seeking to provide lands to investors and to and ordinary citizens with facilities, despite the imbalance in the real estate market in Egypt.
“Despite the challenges facing Egypt, we were able to achieve a growth rate close to 20%, with the creation of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs associated with the real estate sector. Madbouly said. “Egypt is building one of the most important projects, the Social Housing project, which includes 1m housing units, and the government encourages Arab investors to enter and invest in such projects during the upcoming period.”
The minister noted that the investment atmosphere in the real estate sector in Egypt is positive, especially after the legislative reforms for investment, in addition to the executive regulations that will be issued soon.
The minister announced that there are investments projects in the real estate sector on an area of 400m to 500m acres, with the participation of the private sector and the government to reach a mutually beneficial situation.
He said that the ministry debuted between 14 to 15 projects in the Economic Summit in March, and only six of them were announced to invest in, while the ministry later received offers for the other projects. The ministry postponed the agreements on these projects until the completion of the final agreement on the announced six projects.
Two final contracts have already been signed for two projects within the last two weeks in the presence of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, according to Madbouly.
Mehleb announced on Sunday that the government achieved great success in the field of real estate investment, noting that every month the government signs a large number of contracts in this field.
He suggested establishing a common database gathering all Arab companies’ projects to optimise cooperation data, as well as establishing a “global equipment rental company” to work on existing equipment in the region.
The prime minister explained that the equipment will be available to be hired to contractors in different Arab countries, to achieve integration and competition, and achieve success in the construction projects with lower costs.
“Insurance companies must study the nature of the real estate market and entities in the region to decrease the risks in the sector,” Mehleb added.
Mehleb demanded that all Arab constructors achieve an Arab integration roadmap, noting that if an Arab company enters in an international tender, it should get the support of other Arab companies.
