NUCA previously received several requests from Arab and foreign investors to purchase state-owned land in USD, according to a cabinet statement, however, did not disclose which companies were looking to purchase and for how much.
The cabinet and New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) approved on Wednesday the sale of certain lands to foreign companies, on the condition that the purchase be completed using USD, as part of efforts to bring in foreign currency.
NUCA previously received several requests from Arab and foreign investors to purchase state-owned land in USD, according to a cabinet statement, however, did not disclose which companies were looking to purchase and for how much.
The lands allocated for potential sale are located in New Borg El-Arab, New Cairo, October Gardens, New Damietta, Badr, New Sphinx, New October, 10th of Ramadan, New Sohag, 6th of October, Sheikh Zayed, Obour, Sadat, New Aswan, and Shorouk.
These will be available for the development of commercial, administrative, and residential real estate projects, as well as industrial projects, social and sports clubs, a hotel, and an auto repair shop.
The government has implemented several measures to facilitate the sale of properties in hard currency since 2022, including easing restrictions for foreign individuals to purchase real estate and enabling Egyptian expats to ship personal cars without paying customs duties or taxes, including value-added tax (VAT).
Dealing with a foreign currency shortage after foreign investors pulled out approximately $20 billion from the local market at the start of the pandemic, Egypt launched a number of initiatives and a new strategy to attract $191 billion in investments by 2026.
This includes its IPO program which aims to bring in EGP 70 billion in FY2023/2024; the program has already brought in $5.6 billion from the complete or partial shares in 14 state-owned companies.
Egypt aims to secure $12 billion in foreign direct investments by the end of FY2023/2024, while the Suez Canal Economic Zone expects to bring in around $3.9 billion.
