Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting with real estate developers in the presence of Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem El-Gazzar on Saturday to discuss mechanisms for dealing with the repercussions of the current global crisis on the local real estate sector.
Madbouly stated that the government is following up on the negative repercussions of the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict on various sectors.
He added that real estate developers, the Egyptian Businessmen Association, and other organisations have received several letters on the negative impacts of the crisis on the real estate development sector.
The repercussions in question are the consecutive hikes in the prices of different building materials, as well as the high interest rates, along with other negative impacts on the sector.
During the meeting, several proposals for mitigating these influences on the real estate sector were discussed, including increasing dumping fees on some building materials until the desired balance occurs in the local market, activating mortgage initiatives with the private sector, and allowing developers to delay the delivery of their projects.
For his part, El-Gazzar said that some of these proposals can be studied and/or implemented, while other demands and proposals are outside the purview of his ministry, however, coordination with the relevant ministries is possible.
The minister also pointed out that the cabinet has already been enacting some measures — namely delaying the payment of fines — adding that it is possible to study the possibility of postponing instalments.
Furthermore, Khaled Abbas — the Deputy Minister of Housing — stated that the whole world is suffering from this crisis, noting that: “there is a need to take unconventional solutions, and we are ready to hold meetings and to discuss proposals and demands to reach solutions that contribute to overcoming these negative effects.”
The PM concluded the meeting by noting that a working group will be formed immediately under the supervision of the housing minister with the purpose of holding meetings with developers to agree on a number of mechanisms to mitigate the effects of the current global crisis.
Furthermore, Madbouly noted that an urgent meeting will be held with senior steel and cement manufacturers and the head of the Consumer Protection Agency to discuss what challenges local markets are currently facing.
Additionally, a meeting will be held with the relevant authorities regarding facilitating mortgage procedures for residential units constructed by the State and the private sector as per the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the PM concluded.
