Egypt's leading construction firm, Arab Contractors Company, are set to complete in June 138 projects involving the construction of roads, bridges, housing developments and water and sanitation stations, a Tuesday statement from Ministry of Housing said. The announcement was made during a Tuesday meeting between Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Mostafa Madbouly and the company's board of directors, chaired by CEO Mohamed Mohsen Salah. During the meeting, the attendees discussed obstacles facing Arab Contractors' projects inside and outside of Egypt and methods for resolving them, the statement added. Madbouly also pledged to discuss with Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby the repayment of financial dues owed by the government to the company. Arab Contractors announced in February that their net profit slumped 33.3% year on year in the 2012/2013 fiscal year (FY) to register EGP 336m, down from EGP 505m in FY 2011/2012. Salah stated that the company's business in FY 2012/2013 was valued at EGP 11.027bn, compared to EGP 11.02bn in FY 2011/2012. The CEO added that the value of the firm's offshore business reached EGP 2.85bn, registering a 4% increase from EGP 2.47bn in FY 2011/2012. Meanwhile, net profits of the offshore business marked a 39.25% decrease to reach EGP 113m. Due the instability that has plagued the country after the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July, the construction sector has been "negatively affected", a quarterly report from Gleeds Construction Consultancy Egypt said. In a move that was deemed one of the largest construction contracts in the Arab region, the armed forces, in cooperation with UAE's Arabtec Construction Company, announced it would construct 1m residential units for low-income youth. In order to boost projects in the sector, the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) will conclude the amendment of the real estate regulations draft within two months, Madbouly said on Monday.
