Egypt’s Housing Minister Sherif El-Sherbiny said the government has begun disbursing compensation to landowners affected by the Alam Al-Roum development project, clearing the way for construction, even as a senior ministry source said only 30% of eligible compensation has actually been paid so far.
The government previously presented residents of Semella village in Alam Al-Roum, near Marsa Matrouh, with its compensation plan for homes and farmland in exchange for evacuating the area. The move followed an agreement with Qatari Diar to establish a large-scale tourism project on the land, with residents to be relocated to a nearby site. Villagers formed committees to negotiate compensation terms, according to an earlier Mada Masr report.
The report said the government initially offered compensation of 10,000 Egyptian pounds per square meter for buildings. Residents countered with a demand of 30,000 pounds per square meter. One resident who had agreed to increase the registered size of their home later discovered, upon collecting compensation, that it amounted to 5,000 pounds per square meter, prompting them to refuse payment.
In November, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly oversaw the signing of a major investment agreement with Qatari Diar to develop a tourism and urban project on Egypt’s North Coast, with estimated investments of $29.7 billion. Under the deal, the government is set to receive $3.5 billion by the end of the current year in exchange for the project land, along with residential construction rights expected to generate $1.8 billion in returns, in addition to 15% of the project’s net profits.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister on Tuesday, El-Sherbiny said the project land has been divided into three zones. The government has already paid compensation for 130.5 feddans in the first zone, 790 feddans in the second, and 122 feddans in the third.
He added that road designs have been completed and are under review by the New Urban Communities Authority, describing work on the project as proceeding “at full speed.” El-Sherbiny also confirmed the start of construction on alternative housing for landowners displaced by the Qatari-backed project in the Forest Zone area.
However, the total area eligible for compensation amounts to 3,400 feddans out of the project’s total 4,900 feddans, a well-informed source at the Housing Ministry told Al Manassa. With compensation paid so far for 1,042 feddans, the completion rate stands at just 30%, they added.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the ministry aims to complete compensation payments for the remaining eligible land gradually during the first quarter of the year, ahead of the start of full project implementation.
The state already owns more than 1,500 feddans of the project’s total land area in Alam Al-Roum, the housing ministry source explained to Al Manassa.
The Qatari Diar deal is Egypt’s second-largest foreign investment agreement, following the Ras al-Hekma development led by the UAE’s Modon Group, with investments estimated at $35 billion.
Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk previously told Al Manassa that the Treasury would receive 50% of the government’s financial returns from the Alam Al-Roum deal, with the bulk of the proceeds earmarked for reducing public debt.
Debt servicing costs consumed most of Egypt’s state revenues during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, widening the overall budget deficit to about 1.2 trillion Egyptian pounds, up from 505 billion pounds the previous year.
