Egypt's Palm Hills denies land withdrawal claim

Developer claims not to own the land which a newspaper alleges is being contested by the Housing Ministry

Egypt's Palm Hills has denied a newspaper report that the Housing Ministry is planning to withdraw 210 feddans of unused land from the company.
A front page story from Wednesday's edition of Al-Mal claimed the property developer had been awarded land in a closed-envelope bid in May 2007 to build a mixed-use compound in Sixth of October, specifying a completion date of early 2011.
The financial newspaper said the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), the housing ministry body assigned with awarding land on the outskirts of Cairo to developers, was reviewing the construction status on major plots of land.
Al-Mal quoted an unnamed official as saying it was unlikely Palm Hills would be given another extension to start building on the land which has so far been unused.
Palm Hills said in a statement published by the Stock Exchange that it had received no notice from the housing ministry regarding the plot and it does not own any unused land in the specified area.
"The company does not have any unused land in Sixth of October besides another 190 feddan plot that the firm has already said it was seeking to return," the note said.
Egypt's second biggest listed developer has seen its shares slump 61 per cent this year on the back of a downturn in construction, corruption investigations involving senior staff and continued legal disputes over its land bank.
Palm Hills shares followed the general downward trend of the Egyptian stock market on Wednesday trade, shedding 2.79 per cent.