Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli attended the signing of a massive tourist investment agreement to establish an integrated tourism project — Marassi Red Sea — in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s City Stars and the UAE’s Emaar Misr. Madbouli said the move is set to enhance the Red Sea region’s position as a unique tourist destination and contribute to enhancing Egypt’s economic and tourism growth potential with investments amounting to LE900 billion ($18.5 billion). The agreement was signed by Mohamed Al-Abbar, founder of Emaar Properties, and Hassan Al-Sharbatli, vice chairman of City Stars Group, which includes the Golden Coast Tourism Company.
At a press conference held at the cabinet headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, Madbouli explained that the project will provide more than 150,000 job opportunities during its implementation and 25,000 permanent job opportunities once it is operational. This, Madbouli added, will generate significant economic returns for the Egyptian state, in addition to the state’s share of the project’s built-up areas. He emphasised that “the government prioritises tourism and urban development, and that in the coming period we will see significant investments in this area, both on the Red Sea and the North Coast, so that they can become popular destinations year-round, and not just during the three months of summer.”
Gamal bin Sennia, board chairman of Emaar Properties, explained that Marassi Red Sea will be established as an integrated tourism project spanning 10 million square metres on the Red Sea.
Al-Sharbatli said the project will be unique in terms of planning and services. “This pioneer tourist project will change the face of the Red Sea region,” Al-Sharbatli said, noting that the project “will constitute a significant addition to the Egyptian economy and GDP, and will remarkably contribute to the development of Egypt’s tourism sector, particularly by attracting yacht tourism and introducing new tourism facilities, making it a beacon on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.”
Al-Sharbatli explained that the investment is a new addition to his Golden Coast Company’s tourism projects in Egypt, which began in 1989 with the launch of the commercial City Stars Mall in east Cairo. “We have other investments in Cairo at Qattamia neighbourhood and 6 October city in addition to tourist projects in Sharm El-Sheikh,” Al-Sharbatli said.
Emaar Misr for Development, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Emaar Properties, announced on Sunday that its subsidiary Sky Towers Real Estate Development would launch the new Marassi Red Sea project in partnership with Golden Coast Hotels, Tourist Village and Entertainment Projects founded by Al-Sharbatli.
Emaar, the UAE’s largest listed real estate company, has investments in Egypt, most notably the Marassi project, located in the Sidi Abdel-Rahman area on the North Mediterranean coast, and the Uptown Cairo project, located in the heart of Cairo.
Mohamed Al-Abbar, the company’s founder, stated that Emaar Misr for Development will invest $1 billion in Egypt by 2025. He noted that the company has invested approximately $35 billion since it began operating in the country, at a rate of $1 billion annually. Al-Abbar said the Marassi project will see the construction of 12 hotels including more than 4,000 rooms. “It is just a half hour drive from the tourist city of Hurghada and we hope we will establish the first phase within four years,” Al-Abbar said, noting the project follows Emaar’s years of experience with Marassi North Coast, a project which transformed the North Coast into the beating heart of tourism in Egypt and strengthened its position on the international tourism map, attracting more than four million visitors in three months this summer, compared to three million visitors in the summer of 2024.
Al-Abbar said the Marassi plan represents Emaar’s first expansion on the Red Sea coast and aims to provide an integrated model for a tourist city that combines luxury housing, Maldives-inspired floating cabanas, private beaches, marine activities, lagoons, over 500 retail outlets, schools, hospitals, entertainment, and medical services.
Al-Abbar indicated that Marassi Red Sea will target an elite segment of investors and buyers seeking a high-end tourism real estate experience. “This pioneering project is planned to be completed and operational within four years, with the entire development spanning 12 years due to its large size,” said Al-Abbar.
Marassi Red Sea is located near major roads, including Hurghada-Safaga road, and is 50 km from Hurghada International Airport. It is also close to El Gouna, one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Red Sea, near Soma Bay. It is strategically located and overlooks turquoise waters and rare coral reefs. “The project is expected to create revenues of between $100 million and $200 million annually from tourist activities,” Emaar said in a statement.
Prime Minister Madbouli said the signing of Marassi Red Sea comes as the government moves to provide new areas overlooking the Red Sea to investors, particularly from the Arab Gulf, for the development of tourism and real estate projects, similar to the Ras Al-Hekma project on the Mediterranean coast. He indicated that Egypt aims to attract $42 billion in foreign direct investment during the current fiscal year which began in early July. “Marassi Red Sea also falls within the government’s 2030 strategy to transform Egypt into a tourism and investment hub, aiming to increase tourist traffic into the country to reach 30 million by 2028,” Madbouli said.
Egypt has increasingly turned to Gulf investors and partners in recent years. In 2024, Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ committed $35 billion to develop Ras Al-Hekma, a 170 square kilometre Mediterranean coast zone.
Madbouli also announced last month that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi’s visit to Doha in April resulted in an agreement with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on a package of direct Qatari investments in Egypt worth $7.5 billion in tourism, agriculture, food security, and renewable energy.
Senator and businessman Gamal Abul-Fotouh told Al-Ahram Weekly that the new Marassi Red Sea project clearly demonstrates that Egypt has become a magnet for international tourism. “Despite the political turmoil and armed conflicts gripping the region, Egypt has been able to attract more than $42 billion in tourist investments in 2024 and this year it is still attracting great investments, particularly from the Gulf,” Abul-Fotouh said, noting that Egypt’s tourism sector recorded its highest contribution to the GDP in 2024, at 8.5 per cent, and that the figure is expected to reach 8.6 per cent in 2025.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 11 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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