“This world-class integrated urban development project will transform the Alam Al-Roum area into a coastal tourism and investment destination,” an Egyptian government statement said, hailing the agreement between the Qatari Diar real-estate arm of the Qatar Investment Authority and the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), which falls under the Ministry of Housing.
The project, costing some $29.7 billion and covering 4,900 feddans (around 20 square km) of land around 50 km from the existing Ras Al-Hikma project, will include tourist, residential, and commercial components.
It is expected to generate more than 250,000 jobs and will be implemented by a subsidiary of Qatari Diar that was established specifically for this purpose.
According to Alaa Fikri, vice-chairman of the Real Estate Development Committee at the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association, the project reflects Egypt’s strategy of maximising investment in the country’s coastal zones.
The government aims to attract major capital inflows from foreign sovereign wealth funds or state-linked enterprises as partners in development, he said. This allows Egypt to obtain foreign currency immediately upon signing and to secure regular revenues as the project proceeds.
Under the agreement, Qatari Diar will pay $3.5 billion for the land and inject $26.2 billion in capital and in-kind investments to develop the project. NUCA will also receive an in-kind share from the residential component, in addition to 15 per cent of the project’s net profits after recovering investment costs.
In a statement to the media, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchok said that the payment for the land will reach the state treasury before the end of the year. He stressed that the $3.5 billion was not a deposit, but a foreign direct investment (FDI) that will serve to lower public debt and improve the country’s economic indicators.
Ayman Sami, country head for JLL, a global real-estate consultancy, said that selling land to foreign persons or entities is a commonly used strategy for states seeking to generate revenues in foreign currency.
Mahmoud Gad, head of Research at Arab African International Securities, agrees, adding that the benefits from such deals extend beyond the returns on land sales. Agreements of this sort also come with guarantees that the state will receive a share in the project’s added value and revenues.
In March 2024, Egypt signed a $35 billion FDI deal with the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi ADQ to develop the Ras Al-Hekma area. That project includes residential districts, world-class hotels, leisure and entertainment complexes, along with all essential urban services, from administrative and utility infrastructures to schools, universities and hospitals.
It also contains a service-sector free zone, hosting technology industries, light manufactures, and logistics services. Nearby is a central business and financial district to attract global firms. The Egyptian government retains a 35 per cent stake in the Ras Al-Hekma project.
The new Alam Al-Roum project will include luxury residential compounds, tourism and leisure projects, artificial lakes, golf courses, and three marinas, of which one will be dedicated to international customers. The project will also feature power-distribution stations, water-desalination and treatment plants, and several hospitals, schools, and universities, in addition to administration facilities.
“Because of its scale, the project will spur development across the North Coast, creating jobs in diverse sectors,” Fikri said. He also predicted that demand for the project’s housing, tourist, commercial, and other facilities will lead to the expansion of the Marsa Matrouh Airport.
Gad pointed out that one of the main aims of the developers of such large-scale coastal urban development projects is to make them viable year-round. The key to this is the “integrated city” concept, which envisions providing all services and facilities for life in one location, thereby generating a sustained demand for permanent housing, as opposed to just seasonal vacation units.
Sami added that achieving the year-round aim requires incentives beyond tourist attractions. With that in mind, the plans include agricultural, educational, and industrial investments, along the lines of the development projects that have emerged in New Alamein.
According to Gad, Gulf investments primarily target foreign buyers and therefore target their marketing to prospective clients in both the Gulf and Europe. This was the case with the Ras Al-Hekma campaign, where the developer, the Talaat Moustafa Group, saw most of its sales come from abroad.
Gad anticipates that such external marketing will drive up unit prices of housing across the North Coast in a dynamic that will incentivise developers to compete in the quality of products and services they provide.
Some analysts have cautioned against the risk of oversupply, which would drive down returns. Fikri, however, believes that such fears are groundless. “The growing number of projects and available units will not result in market saturation or a sales downturn. We need two to three times more units to keep up with foreign demand for this area,” he said.
In his view, Emirati developers have a distinct edge when it comes to attracting foreign clients because of the high standards of services modelled on Dubai. For example, owner of Emaar Mohamed Alabbar’s project on the North Coast commands prices unmatched by local developers due to his reputation, expertise, and trusted client base.
Fikri expects property prices in North Coast developments to rise further due to the added value these mega projects will generate.
Sami also dismissed fears of oversupply. The total area of the new project at under 20 million m2 is not that large, he said, while demand remains strong among foreign purchasers. In general, the North Coast, with its growing Gulf investor presence, is drawing a new clientele that has only recently discovered this region, he added.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 November, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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