File photo: Alam Al-Roum area. Ahram.
These first phases will cover roughly 20 percent of the project’s total area, Sheikh Hamad bin Talal Al Thani, Head of Development and Projects in Asia and Africa at Qatari Diar, told Al-Sharq Bloomberg on Saturday.
On Thursday, the company signed a partnership agreement with Egypt's New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) to invest $29.7 billion in the mega-project.
Under the agreement, Qatari Diar will pay $3.5 billion for the land in the Alam El-Roum area and contribute an additional $26.2 billion in in-kind investments to develop the project.
The 15-year development plan is designed to create an integrated urban community with residential, commercial, and tourism components. The project will span 4,900 acres (around 20 million square meters) along 7.2 kilometers of coastline.
Regarding the project’s layout, Bin Talal stated that the residential component will occupy 60 percent of the area, complemented by recreational spaces and world-class hotels totalling roughly 4,500 rooms.
The $3.5-billion cash payment will be transferred by Qatari Diar before the end of the year, while the in-kind investment will be delivered as residential units valued at about $1.8 billion, to be received upon sale after delivery.
Additionally, NUCA will receive 15 percent of net profits, including returns from the project company and related entities controlled by Qatari Diar, once the full investment costs have been recovered, as stipulated in the agreement.
Bin Talal expressed confidence in the venture, welcoming cooperation with Egyptian companies and highlighting Egypt’s operational capabilities and extensive experience in managing large-scale real estate projects.
He emphasized that the project forms part of Qatari Diar’s broader expansion strategy in promising regional markets, underscoring Egypt as a key strategic destination in its Middle East and North Africa portfolio. Bin Talal added that the company aims to offer a long-term development model aligned with Egypt’s urban growth.
Highlighting the North Coast’s market prominence, he noted that sales in the region accounted for more than 60 percent of Egypt’s total real estate transactions in 2024, totalling around 1.5 trillion Egyptian pounds.
Diar’s new investment is part of a broader wave of expansion in Egypt’s large-scale development ventures, aimed at reinforcing the country’s position as a leading regional hub for tourism and investment.
In recent months, Egypt has signed multiple high-profile agreements to boost its North Coast and Red Sea projects.
In September, Egypt signed an $18-billion deal with Emirati Emaar and Saudi City Stars to launch their latest flagship project, Marassi Red Sea, in the Red Sea governorate.
In February 2024, Egypt signed a landmark agreement worth $35 billion with the UAE’s ADQ to develop the Ras El-Hekma region on the North Coast into a world-class Mediterranean city.
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