Saudi and Qatari funds bid for new Egyptian project

Unsplash.com/Irina Nakonechnaya

Consortiums backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Qatar Investment Authority are among several Gulf bidders seeking to develop land in the Ras Ghamila area in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, a local Egyptian media outlet reported.

The winning consortium will be announced within two months after evaluating the submitted offers, Daily News Egypt reported, citing informed sources.  

Additionally, two new project tenders will be issued, similar to the Ras El Hekma deal secured by a consortium of UAE companies.

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ADQ has unveiled plans to invest $35 billion to build Egypt’s “largest new city” to promote tourism and drive economic growth.

Ras Ghamila’s location near Sharm El-Sheikh airport makes it an attractive prospect for a unique tourist resort, the newspaper report said.

The development plan for Ras Ghamila includes establishing a 4-star hotel with 844 rooms and 1,288 hotel apartments. 

Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly has already affirmed a comprehensive urban development plan for Egypt 2052, identifying the North Coast region as a promising area.  

Last week, Egypt’s New Urban Communities Authority and the UAE’s UDC Real Estate Development Company signed a contract to develop an EGP60 billion ($1.9 billion) urban development project in New Cairo.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has targeted attracting foreign direct investment to increase the private sector’s role in the country’s economy.

The government aims to attract $12 billion in foreign direct investment in the current financial year, which runs to June, according to Hossam Heiba, chairman of the General Authority of Free Zones and Investment.