The Waterway Developments invests EGP 13bn in Egyptian market

The Waterway Developments, a pioneer in Egyptian real estate development, announced its expansion plan in the Egyptian market during 2021, on Friday at a press conference on the sidelines of the Cityscape Egypt exhibition.

The expansion plan will see the company aim to complete and develop new projects worth a total of EGP 13bn in investments.

Haitham Samir, CEO of Equity for Investment and Real Estate Development, a subsidiary of The Waterway Developments, said that the company’s total investments in the Egyptian market amount to EGP 30bn. It has a total of seven projects in its portfolio.

He said that one of the ongoing projects, The Capitalway located in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), was launched in February 2018 and which has so far recorded sales of EGP 4bn.

Samir added that the project includes two phases, with units having only been offered within the residential part. Units in the commercial and administrative service areas have not been offered yet. He said that the first phase and about 60% of the second phase have been completely sold out.

He also said that the project includes 1,508 fully finished units of varying areas ranging from 90 sqm to 333 sqm, which will be delivered with air conditioning. The units are being sold at a price of EGP 25,800 per square metre.

Samir added that the company has implemented a special offer for customers at the Cityscape Egypt exhibition, providing a 10% down-payment and payment plan of up to 10 years.

At the same time, the payment system used outside the exhibition period is either zero down-payment and a payment plan extending over seven years, or a 15% down-payment and a payment plan of instalments over nine years.

He noted that the project's first deliveries will take place in early 2022, with the total amount spent by the company in construction works so far ranging between EGP 2.5bn-EGP 3bn.

Administrative and commercial units at The Capitalway will be offered from January 2021, with targeted sales for the project amounting to EGP 7bn.

Spanning over 42 feddans, The Capitalway is self-financed. The Waterway Developments has paid all land instalments for the project’s area, except for one instalment which will be paid according to the scheduled date.

Regarding The Waterway Developments’ expansion plans, Samir revealed that the company plans to launch three projects, the first of which is the WPR project in the Choueifat area of New Cairo.

The project includes 120 luxury serviced-apartments of areas ranging from 60 sqm to 500 sqm, worth a total of EGP 2bn in investments. Moreover, the company has contracted with a major hotel brand to manage the project. The units are delivered to customers fully finished, with air conditioners and kitchens.

“The company has launched a 30-feddan project as a fully-serviced residential compound located on the Northern 90th Street in the Fifth Settlement area of New Cairo with EGP 5bn in initial investments,” Samir said, “The Waterway Developments launched The Hub complex last September, which is an integrated service complex with investments worth EGP 1.2bn. The offered units were sold out under the ownership system within a month, with a total value of EGP 600m.”

The company is also preparing to operate the 5A project, the largest service complex in New Cairo, in April 2021, and it has been fully developed and marketed. It includes trademarks and administrative brands that are introduced for the first time in Egypt. The area of the commercial area is 20,000 sqm, and the administrative offices are 40,000 sqm, according to Samir.

The Waterway North Coast’s construction permits are currently underway, with the company recording EGP 1.1bn in sales for the project in the first offering in 2018. The project’s total investments are estimated at EGP 4bn, he said.

Samir said that the company’s expansion plan for 2021 is based on the expansion of its land portfolio, which will take place by obtaining new plots of land in Sheikh Zayed and at several locations across Egypt. Accordingly, the company is about to launch a huge new project in Mansoura on 220 feddans.

He explained that the group is currently implementing a huge and distinctive project in Port Said Governorate, entitled Downtown Port Said, in addition to the 308 serviced apartments at the Palma Resort Port Said resort which it manages.

Samir added that construction contracts worth EGP 300m were signed in 2020 to develop the company's existing projects in the NAC and the Fifth Settlement.

Foreigners represent 13% of The Waterway Developments' client base, with 33% represented by Egyptian expatriates.