The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested EGP 1.5bn (€86.5m) in Egypt's New Urban Communities Authority's (NUCA) latest EGP 10bn bond issuance. The bonds are part of a plan put in place by El Taamir, NUCA's securitisation special purpose company, to diversify funding sources by tapping the debt capital market. The EBRD's investment brings its total contribution in NUCA's EGP 20bn bond programme to EGP 3bn (€173m). This alternative method of financing urban infrastructure development will help NUCA to free up much-needed resources. It will also help the authority continue developing new sustainable towns on desert land, with the aim of relocating some of Egypt's population away from the narrow Nile Delta land strip. This will help stimulate the economy and create new job opportunities. NUCA has developed over 20 cities in Egypt, attracting strong private sector support, including from developers and contractors. The EBRD's subscription will also support the development of Egypt's currency bond market, with the securities will be listed on the Egyptian stock market. NUCA's bond issuance, which is set to contribute to the deepening of the local capital market, is the largest in the history of the local capital bond market, with a maturity among the longest available. Egypt has been a shareholder of the EBRD since it was founded in 1991. The EBRD started investing in the country in 2012, and since then has provided financing worth more than €6.5bn in 115 projects in the country.
