The Sixth of October for Development and Investment Company (SODIC), Egypt's third largest real estate developer, reported to the Egyptian Stock Exchange that no lawsuits were filed against them by the Lebanese multinational real estate developer Solidere. According to AhramOnline's report on Tuesday; Beltone, a Cairo-based investment bank, stated that Solidere announced Sunday its plans to take legal action against SODIC demanding repayment of EGP 237 million to Solidere's Egyptian subsidiary. Ashraf Farid, executive-director of operations at SODIC, stated the worst case scenario for the dispute with Solidere is SODIC repaying EGP 160 million, which represents the tranche received from the Lebanese company, out of a total of EGP 237 million. A dispute between SODIC and Solidere's Egyptian subsidiary erupted over a 250,000 square metre plot of land, 20 per cent of SODIC's Westown project, that the Lebanese Solidere was to develop within the coming three years. Ashraf Farid said that SODIC will head to Cairo's Regional Centre of International Trade Arbitration for the disengagement of the company's partnership with Solidere, as the latter failed to fulfil its contractual obligation to develop 20 per cent of the Westown project within the three-year timeframe imposed by Egypt's New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA). The partnership between SODIC and Solidere was inaugurated in 2008, when the two countries announced their plans to invest up to EGP 22 billion in the development of new urban communities and mixed-use city centres outside of Cairo.
