Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar
The minister said the gateway allows investors to inquire about investment opportunities or request specific investment opportunities for all service activities in new cities, payable in US dollars from abroad.
The portal, currently available only in Arabic, aligns with Egypt’s digital transformation plan, aimed at bolstering investment and streamlining procedures for investors.
Walid Abbas, NUCA’s deputy head for planning and projects and the minister’s office supervisor, explained the steps for investors to engage with the portal as follows.
- They have to register through an investor account and enter all required data (name, national ID, email, and phone number).
- Once the activation message is received, investors proceed to register their company details and submit the necessary documents.
- After registration, they can apply for investment opportunities.
- If they are unaware of the details of the land plot, they can submit an inquiry.
- Requests are accepted on the portal from the first to the seventh of each month.
- Responses are provided from the eighth to the 14th, indicating the availability of the plot.
- From the 15th to the 30th of each month, investors complete the required procedures and documents if the plot is available.
- NUCA’s Board of Directors then carries out allocation.
The new gateway is one of the most recent measures taken by Egypt to secure more foreign currency and attract foreign investments to solve the US dollar liquidity crunch the country is currently facing.
In January, the Egyptian cabinet approved the sale of specific tracts of land to foreign companies in US dollars.
In the same month, Egypt's House of Representatives approved an amendment to the Desert Land Law, which grants foreigners the right to own lands for investment projects.
The amendment grants Arab investors the right to own lands on an equal footing with Egyptians.
Abbas announced in September that the total investments in Egypt’s new cities have reached EGP 705 billion ($22.82 billion).
Along the same lines, Egypt launched a car import initiative in October 2022 to attract foreign currency, with a revenue target of $2.5 billion.
In May 2023, the restructured Supreme Council for Investment authorized 22 decisions aimed at promoting foreign direct investments (FDIs) and private investments in Egypt.
The Egyptian cabinet followed that with a decree in July 2023 allowing foreigners to buy real estate properties without restrictions while requiring them to pay in hard currency.
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