CAIRO: An Egyptian judicial panel ruled on Tuesday that a state land sale to Palm Hills Development, Egypt's second biggest listed developer, was illegal and should be scrapped, said Reuters. Palm Hills Development was the second company to face such a ruling, after a court ruled Talaat Moustafa Group's $3 billion Madinaty contract be scrapped. The Judicial Panel said, “The contract signed between the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) and Palm Hills violated the auctions law because it was signed by direct order.” Hamdy Fakhrany, who filed the case against the Talaat Moustafa Group, also filed the Palm Hills suit, contesting a 960,000 square meter plot of land in a Cairo suburb, saying it was sold by NUCA, a housing ministry body, at below the market price. The Palm Hills case is now being heard in courts and the judicial panel on Tuesday advised the contract be scrapped because it was sold in violation of the law and below market prices, a statement said. BM
