Dolmen Developments intends to offer its second commercial project located in Al Maqsad by City Edge Developments, in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) this year, with expected sales exceeding EGP 250m, the company's Chairperson Abdelazim Khalil said. Dolmen is now developing three administrative and commercial projects in the NAC with over EGP 1bn investments. Daily News Egypt sat down with Khalil to learn more about the company's projects and expansion plan. What are the updates of The Pier mall in the NAC? The company conducted a study named "commodity diversity" before designing the mall and identified the needs of the region and its customers to provide mandatory diversity between products by defining the activities for each store. We have obtained licences to establish the mall, and currently we are conduction the earthwork. I expect that we will complete 60% of the concrete structure by the end of the year. How much is The Pier mall's investment? The Pier comprises 150 units: 25 administrative units and clinics, and the rest are commercial, over 3,000 sqm, with investments of about EGP 400m. how many units did you sell in the project? We managed to sell 70% of the project's units. What is the construction cost of The Pier mall? We plan to direct approximately EGP 20m in construction works and roughly EGP 5m in our second mall in Al Maqsad. What are the main brands in The Pier? Passionelle, Awlad Ragab, Abdel Maboud, Yamani Coffee, and other investors. When will the company launch its second project in the NAC? The second mall is located in the heart of Al Maqsad in the New Capital to be the first commercial project inside the 211-feddan Al Maqsad. We plan to launch the mall in the current year with payment plans spanning eight years. The mall will be important because, by May, about 500 clients will receive their units in Al Maqsad, and thus the mall will be the only service centre for the compound's residents. The planned mall will span over 2,300 sqm and comprises of 120 stores, with spaces ranging between 20 to 120 sqm. How much are the mall's investments and expected sales? The mall's investment is approximately EGP 140m, with expected sales of over EGP 250m. We expect to sell 70% of the project by the end of the year. When will the company begin the project's construction work? We plan to begin construction works in the fourth quarter (4Q) of 2020. When will the company deliver the second mall? We intend to deliver our three projects in the NAC by the end of 2022, according to our contract with the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA). We cooperated with the NUCA to develop one of the squares in R3 District in the NAC which will be over 5,000 sqm, gifted from the company to the NUCA. Do you plan to assign a facility management company to provide maintenance services for your developments? No, we will establish an subsidiary to manage and provide maintenance services for our projects. When will the company launch its third project in the NAC? The project will be offered for sale in 4Q2020, and will be built on 3,500 sqm. Commercial and administrative projects often require a high population density to achieve profits, do you have any concerns that the population of the New Capital can be less than required? The state's support for the NAC and the governmental district there (via the movement of all ministries and embassies) will undoubtedly increase housing demand. There will high-quality services in the city to facilitate life for residents. What is the value of the company's investments in Egypt? Our investments exceeded EGP 1bn in three projects in the NAC. The company's projects are self-financed. We have good financial solvency, and don't plan to borrow from banks. The company considers obtaining land in one of the new cities from the NUCA to develop a residential project, what are the updates of the negotiations? We seek to become a leading real estate development company in Egypt and the Middle East, through achieving the highest standards in the real estate market. Our aim is to be a premium choice for those who believe that smart, thoughtful real estate development changes communities to be better. Dolman plans to diversify its work to include housing projects. Therefore, we plan to develop a mixed-use project in one of the new cities. Accordingly, we are currently studying the project's investment opportunities, in terms of return on investment, the period of investment, and client needs. In your opinion, where do you think the real estate sector is experiencing a gap between supply and demand? Local market demand is approximately 600,000 to 650,000 units, but the supply is about only 20-30%. Commercial and administrative projects are promising and complementary to the residential market. What is your vision of Egypt's real estate market in 2020? Egypt's property market is very strong as the demand is ten times the supply. The issue is the low purchasing power; however, the government provided the solution through launching the mortgage finance initiative for middle-income housing in 2019. Moreover, the year 2019 was the year of offerings; meanwhile, 2020 is the year of challenge due to implementation. Besides, the market will grow in the second half of the current year due to the operation of the governmental district in the NAC.
