Egypt’s Housing Ministry is considering repossessing 4,000 feddans (about 16.8 million square meters) of land along the northwest coast, potentially valued at 110 billion Egyptian pounds (approximately $2.24 billion). This move, a senior official told Al Manassa, is due to developers’ failure to comply with allocation terms.
The violations include failure to meet construction deadlines and defaults on land installment payments, according to the official.
The New Urban Communities Authority, a subsidiary of the ministry, is evaluating each case individually to determine whether to impose fines, grant grace periods, or reclaim and re-offer the plots to new investors.
“Some companies haven’t started building at all. Others haven't paid the agreed-upon installments,” the official said.
At least 123 real estate firms have entered talks with NUCA in a bid to regularize their landholdings on the North Coast. These negotiations precede a Cabinet-formed committee’s review of land use along the strategic Mediterranean corridor, Al-Borsa, a business news site, reported earlier this week.
The developers’ central aim in these talks is to retain their plots amidst a broader government push to accelerate urban development in the area. A meeting between Housing Minister Sherif El-Sherbiny and representatives from the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Egyptian Industries is expected later this month to discuss the land status and potential policy shifts.
Meanwhile, NUCA has introduced new service fees for North Coast projects involving multiple stakeholders. The charges vary significantly by location, with rates of 500 Egyptian pounds (approximately $10) per square meter for land south of the coastal highway, 750 pounds (around $15) north of the highway, and 1,000 pounds (about $20) for seafront properties, Asharq Business with Bloomberg reported today.
In May 2020, the Cabinet approved a presidential decree to reallocate four large land parcels—totaling around 707,000 feddans—in the North Coast for urban expansion under NUCA's management.
The move signaled the state’s long-term interest in transforming the coastline into a regulated urban zone rather than a seasonal tourist destination.
