Real estate event organiser Cityscape Egypt will hold its annual Business Breakfast on 11 February with Minister of Housing Ibrahim Mahlab to explore potential investment opportunities in the real estate sector, the company announced. "We are currently working on a creative a more attractive environment by tackling challenges facing the sector," Mahlab said. "The real estate market is full of investment potential, creating a steady path for sustainable economic development." The minister also mentioned that disputes between the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) and real estate developers have been settled, with developers being offered a new incentive bundle to facilitate investment in the market. The minister pointed out that NUCA is also working on legislative amendments aiming at regaining the trust of investors. Wouter Molman, director of Cityscape Group, said that a wave of new projects was launched in the real state sector "with the ever-increasing number of residential, retail, hospitality and commercial development." "We are very excited about this year and look forward to enhancing and supporting a vision for real estate growth in Egypt," Molman added. Among prominent panelists slated to attend are Ayman Ismail, partner-chairman and CEO of DMG Mountain View; Mohamed Fares, CEO of Raya Smart Buildings; Mohmaed El-Mikawi, managing director of Al Futtaim Group Real Estate; Alex Mavridis, chief investment officer at Al Dau Development in Sami Saad Holding; and Ahmed Badrawi, managing director of SODIC. The focus of this year's exhibition will be foreign direct investments (FDI) in the sector, mainly driven by the Gulf investment groups. Cityscape Group pointed out that market analysts have indicated that the injection of Gulf capital will help offer liquidity for small companies and subcontractors, which in turn would take pressure off the market, allowing the sector to deliver the latest technology, operational practices and internationally employed financing tools. On 28 January, Mahlab issued Ministerial Decree 67/2014 to amend "executive regulations" in the Construction Law regarding land divisions. "Land division rules determined by the old law were cut into two rules instead of three in order to ease the process for applicants," Nafisa Mahmoud, head of the ministry's housing and utility division, mentioned in a ministerial statement. Land divisions refer to the allocation of space given to roads, streets, hospitals, schools and infrastructure within the lands purchased to found a new city. A day earlier, the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development sponsored the "Your Estate" conference, aimed at defining the challenges facing the real estate and housing sectors and discussing how such challenges could be overcome.
