Arabia Group announced it will be showcasing its iconic "City of the Sun" development for the first time at Cityscape Egypt. The high profile property developer has signed unprecedented $4.6 billion (35 billion Egyptian pounds) deal struck with Egypt's housing ministry. Cityscape Egypt is to take place at the Cairo International Convention Centre on September 16 – 19, 2015. The plan to develop real estate project on a plot spanning 557 feddans was born during Egypt Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh held last March, where Arabia Group were awarded the land as part of a wider government initiative to develop additional housing for Egypt's growing population. Tarek Shoukry, Chairman of Arabia Group has revealed; ‘The City of the Sun' PPP project is still awaiting ministerial decree and approval of the detailed plan and outline. The project will be situated in the Cairo suburb of 6th of October City and will be showcased alongside two other projects at this year's event." "The upcoming edition of Cityscape Egypt will be one of the most exciting ever for us. In addition to the highly anticipated Sun City development, the third phase of the Galleria Moon Valley project will be unveiled, alongside a brand new administrative building in new Cairo." The demand for real estate in Egypt is on the rise, and property developers are currently under pressure to deliver over eight million units, pushing annual real estate growth forecasts up to 14 per cent – the highest reported for a number of years. Reflecting this growing appetite for new developments, in particular residential, the 4th Cityscape Egypt Exhibition is looking forward to its largest edition yet and has witnessed a 15 per cent increase in stand space since 2014 - a large part of which has come from within Egypt .This demonstrates the strength of the local market, a position that has recently been reinforced by developers' revealing plans to announce a number of new projects during the three day event. Mohamed Karrar, Chairman of Maxim Investment Group one of the country's key property developers, commented that the Egyptian real estate market is in a strong position to achieve growth rates of up to 20 per cent in the coming years, backed by economic and legislative reforms currently adopted by the Egyptian government. "Two more factors that would drive the market to achieve growth are the government's move to offer more land plots under the PPP system, and the large gap between the demand and supply which will revive sales after a hiatus in the last years. We are launching a number of new mega real estate and commercial projects in the coming period including the Bo Islands project, situated in the North Coast's Sidi Abdel-Rahman bay." said Karrar. Egypt's housing deficit bears the pressure of an annual demand for more than half a million homes to meet the needs of new families. This demand for houses and related infrastructure continues to exceed supply, making both real estate and construction an increasingly promising route for internal and foreign investment. With Egypt's youth population set to double by 2040, the pressure is on to put amenities in place to assist the expanding urbanization – with 27 new urban cities having recently been built around Egypt, and plans to increase this number to a further 59 by the end of 2017. Wouter Molman, Group Director of Cityscape comments "Demand for residential property is soaring, making this edition of Cityscape Egypt one of the most important ever hosted. The event will showcase a diverse range of projects this year, from middle income housing through to high-end luxury villas. Essentially, the event is a communication platform for the country's leading developers, and we anticipate a number of high profile announcements during the show. With prices for apartments and villas increasing 20 per cent year-on-year, this is certainly an exciting time for investors, both local and international." Sponsors of the 2015 event include Gold Sponsor Al Ahly for Real Estate Taamir for Mortgage Finance Company Aloula, Associate Conference Sponsor Colliers International and Headline Awards Sponsor Lafarge Cement Egypt SAE. Cityscape's exhibitions, conferences and seminars are the leading events that bring together key industry decision makers, international investors, developers, government and investment authorities, leading architects, designers, and consultants active in the design and construction of real estate.
