Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli has authorised the establishment of a new joint-stock company comprising the Ministry of Finance, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), the Universal Health Insurance Authority (UHIA), and other partners to manage, develop, and invest in real estate assets, while also entering into investment partnerships with Egyptian and foreign private sector developers.
According to the decision, published in the Official Gazette on Saturday, the company will be established in accordance with the provisions of the law governing joint-stock, limited partnership by shares, limited liability, and single-person companies, as well as the investment law, provided this does not conflict with the objectives of the participating entities.
The government aims to maximise the value of underutilised assets by transforming them into projects capable of generating sustainable financial returns. The move has prompted questions over whether the state-backed company will compete with private-sector developers.
Mohamed Al-Bostani, chair of the Real Estate Developers Association, said the decision should not be viewed as creating competition for the private sector. He noted that the state has long developed housing units and invested in its own land through affiliated companies. The participation of both Egyptian and foreign companies would foster healthy competition in the real estate market, he added.
The decision was issued after reviewing the constitution, Law 30/1975 governing the Suez Canal Authority, Law 159/1981 regulating companies, and Law 127/2015 authorising public entities to establish joint-stock companies.
The move is part of the government’s strategy to maximise returns on real estate assets owned by state institutions through investment partnerships with the private sector, thereby supporting economic development plans and attracting domestic and foreign investment.
The SCA has an extensive real estate portfolio, including residential, commercial, and investment properties managed through the Suez Canal Real Estate Development and Investment Company, which was established to maximise returns on the SCA’s land and property assets.
It also owns subsidiaries operating in construction, ports, and maritime services, including the Timsah Shipbuilding Company and the Suez Shipyard Company. The SCA also owns residential units in the Suez Canal cities of Ismailia, Suez, and Port Said, occasionally offering housing units to the public as well as residential projects for its employees.
The UHIA’s real estate holdings are centred on its healthcare infrastructure, comprising a nationwide network of central and general hospitals, comprehensive health insurance clinics, school health units, and specialised medical centres including diabetes and liver disease centres.
It also owns its headquarters in Cairo and administrative offices and regional directorates across the country.
The Ministry of Finance has a vast real estate portfolio including vacant land and underutilised government buildings. These assets are managed through the State Assets Inventory Committee in cooperation with the private sector.
The ministry also owns properties in historic and strategically important areas, including undeveloped land in districts such as Darrassa in Cairo, in addition to recovered assets administered by the Authority for the Management and Disposal of Recovered and Seized Assets. These include land and buildings.
Alaa Fekri, deputy chair of the Real Estate Development Committee at the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association, said the decision is a continuation of the state’s policy of expanding investment in the property sector.
He noted that the government has become one of Egypt’s largest real estate developers through projects in the New Capital and New Alamein and those undertaken by the Mostaqbal Misr Authority.
He dismissed concerns that developing additional properties through the assets owned by the newly established companies, many of which occupy prime locations, would drive up property prices.
These are the result of higher land costs, fees imposed on developers, high interest rates, and the increasing cost of construction materials, he said.
Rather than constructing additional residential units, the new entities should make better use of their strategically located assets by developing multi-storey car parks in densely populated areas, he said, adding that these could generate a steady stream of revenue.
Ayman Al-Shahid, a real estate sector analyst at Mubasher Capital, said land owned by the new entities would be better utilised for property developments other than residential projects, such as hotels or administrative units.
This would help curb the possible emergence of a real estate bubble resulting from growing supply and weak occupancy rates, he said, a trend that has already begun to appear in the market.
Al-Shahid added that establishing real estate investment funds would provide an effective means of maximising returns on the property assets.
He described such funds as the “dark horse” of the real estate sector, noting that developers have increasingly turned to them in response to rising property prices and growing public interest in fractional property ownership as an investment vehicle, provided that units offered under this system are leased out.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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