The 2022 edition of the Cityscape Egypt Conference concludes its activities

For the first time in history, the real estate sector contributes to more than 20% of the National Income.” – Eng. Khaled Abbas, Chairman, New Administrative Capital Company

Cityscape Egypt, the largest real estate investment and development platform in Egypt, concluded its 2022 conference yesterday with a heightened focus on the conference theme “Egypt – At the forefront of change”. The event, under the patronage and support of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities and provided an unparalleled platform where developers and real estate experts engaged in meaningful discussions while learning about the latest investment opportunities, market trends and to discuss the future of Egypt’s real estate property market.

Transferring employees to NAC

The second day of the conference saw the keynote address by Eng. Khaled Abbas Chairman of the New Administrative Capital where he confirmed that the New Administrative Capital Company owns more than 32,000 acres of land, positioning it as the largest real estate development company in the world, and contributing to 20% of Egypt's national income. It is estimated that the second and third phases of the New Administrative Capital will be launched by the beginning of 2023 while more than 50,000 employees will be transferred to the government district by the end of this year. keynote address was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Eng. Fathallah Fawzy, Chairman of The Cityscape Egypt Conference and Chairman of MENA for Real Estate Development Consultancy, where the panellists discussed a number of challenges facing real estate developers who are planning to execute projects at the Administrative Capital.

The first presentation of the day kicked off by Mr. Ahmed Zaki, Managing Director at The Board Consulting, who took he stage to present the latest trends & data of the best-selling coastal destinations in Egypt post North Coast season. Zaki explained that there currently are 28 developers operating in the North Coast area with sales exceeding EGP 70 billions. Zaki stated that Emaar is top of the list in terms of sales revenues with EGP 16 billions in the North Coast region followed by New Giza with EGP 7 billion.

To kickstart the workshop streams for the day, the architecture workshop entitled “The Link between Sustainability and Design” was hosted in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The panel discussion was led by conference MC, Hussein Sayed, news anchor at CNBC Arabia who was joined by panellists Chris Williamson, Partner at Weston Williamson + Partners and Ron Bakker, Founding Partner at PLP Architecture.

The second workshop entitled “How to Make and Publish Environmental Product Declarations for your Products” was presented by Dr. Nasser Ayoub, Co-founder and CEO of EPD Egypt where he provided guidance on environmental certifications.

New laws affecting real estate development

The third workshop discussed “New laws and requirements that affect the real estate investment and development industry” and was moderated by Eng. Fathallah Fawzi, discussing the draft of the reconciliation law and sharing the various viewpoints of the panellists. In attendance were: Dr. Walid Abbas, Deputy Minister of Housing and Supervisor of the Planning Sector at the New Urban

Communities Authority, Eng. Ahmed El Seginy, Chairman of the Local Administration Committee in the Egyptian House of Representatives, Eng. Ahmed Mansour, CEO, Cred Development, Eng. Bashir Mustafa, CEO, First Group Development Company, and Eng. Alaa El-Basiouni, Head of the Construction and Real Estate Investment Division at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.

The final workshop of the day that concluded the 2022 edition of the conference was a riveting discussion on the importance of Measurement Standards for the Egyptian Real estate industry. The panel consisted of RICS Egypt Board members, Dr. Tarek Madany – Managing Director at Global Appraisal Tech (GAT), and Catesby-Langer Paget – Country Head at Savills Egypt. They were joined by the Chair of RICS Egypt Board, Ahmed Ashraf Anwar – Managing Director at AAA Consultancy and the session was moderated by Jordan D’Gama, Head of Strategic Partnerships (Middle East & Africa) RICS. The workshop addressed the importance of risk minimization in order to attract more local and international investors through following the International Standards such as ICMS (International Cost Measurement Standards). The panellists also stressed on the importance of the alignment between the Egyptian developers and the international standards to increase investments and reduce Carbon emissions.

Reviewing of development policies

A few noteworthy outcomes that resulted from the discussions of the previous day consisted of reviewing the Egyptian real estate investment policies, ensuring strict regulations for the sale of housing units still under construction, activating real estate funds, and regulating the real estate ownership for non-Egyptians to attract foreign currency. Additionally, the national strategic plan for sustainable development was emphasized, portraying urban expansion from 7% to 14% through the implementation of 37 new urban communities and 22 other communities that are still under construction. Finally, the discussions urged policymakers to re-examine the real estate financing laws, and the replacement of tax breaks within a safe and stable climate for investment.

Following the conference, the Cityscape Expo is set to take place from 21st to 24th September at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre (EIEC) in New Cairo. Cityscape Egypt, the most trusted and exclusive property show, is organized by Informa Markets - the leading organizer of exhibitions. The event will present over 70+ local and international developers, brokers and citizenship by investment companies aiming to cater to all levels of property buyers in the region.