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Engineering Consultancy market needs grading: Ldp+Partners Real estate sector success boosted by Egyptian Government, who continued to provide significant support during COVID-19 pandemic
Nader Fouda, CEO and Design Manager at Ldp+Partners, has said that Egypt's consultancy market needs to be graded, making it easier for developers to select a consultancy that matches the size of their project. With the new classification of consultancy offices in place, this would then mean that time and effort is saved in the project process. Fouda also said that sustainable development needs more incentives for developers to ease the business of engineering consultants. He added that Ldp+Partners has obtained LEED Certification, the most widely used green building rating system internationally, in addition to having a team that is certified. As an architectural engineering consultant, Ldp+Partners initiates and works using the LEED System in projects it has been assigned. The technology increases initial costs in projects by 20% to 30%, but saves much money during the project's operation, Fouda explained. He advised new and small developers to be patient, and not to fall behind achieving a market share quickly. They should also ensure that they can wear many hats, rather than depending solely on design work only. "Many countries have succeeded in issuing Building Information Modeling (BIM) for property projects, with Dubai, for example, mandating the use of BIM," Fouda said, "It is an intelligent 3D model-based process that gives architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals the insight and tools to plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure more efficiently." He added that, as a result, such BIM technology needs to be publicised by the Egyptian Government, to improve collaboration, and provide a store of architectural and design data. Fouda revealed that Ldp+Partners designs and manages projects across various new cities in Egypt with construction costs worth EGP 2bn. In addition to this, the company has $2.5bn worth of construction work at projects in Saudi Arabia. The office provides new developers with a package of services beginning with concept design, design development, and helping them obtain governmental approvals, he said. Fouda also noted that the company concentrates mainly on the Egyptian real estate market, due to its not being much affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Instead, the volume of market business has increased nationwide, and the number of new companies working in the local market has also increased significantly over the past three years. The sector's success has been boosted by the Egyptian Government, who continued to provide significant support during the pandemic. Accordingly, engineering consultants of all sizes had the opportunity to commence with more business, including at huge projects that are currently taking place. Ldp+Partners owns branches in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where it is currently working on 12 projects in the former, and four private projects in the latter. Fouda added that the company is currently finalising procedures to establish a fourth branch in Rwanda, to serve south east of Africa, and will start operations in the second half (H2) of 2021. "We work with more than seven developers in Egypt, with one of our major clients being Arabia Holding that is co-developing Sun Capital in collaboration with the government," Fouda said, "Our office was assigned to re-urbanise and re-plan the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh phases, which are located on 730,000 sqm, and we have taken on the architectural development of the current residential prototypes, in collaboration with HSI in providing luxury villas and interiors." Ldp+Partners is involved in some projects in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), namely in the design of Capital Gate, and the Electromechanical Engineering documents for Souq El-Dahab projects for IC Group and The Crystal Tower in New Capital, Fouda said. Additionally, the company is currently working on designing a new mixed-use project for City Stars Properties, and has been shortlisted in the renovation project for Banque du Caire's headquarters. Fouda indicated that Ldp+Partners is working on designing projects in fields of hospitality, residential, health care, commercial, offices, and mixed-use urban developments. "We are looking to provide a competitive product in one of coastal areas," Fouda said, "Ldp+Partners is eyeing contracting with new developers of small and mid-size real estate companies to help them in developing successful and distinguished projects." Regarding his expectations in the current year, he projected that Egypt's real estate market will see fierce competition in proposing the best offers, affordable prices and facilities to attract the largest customer base and motivate sales. He believes that the NAC, New Alamein, Ras El-Hikma on the North Coast, and New Mansoura are the most promising areas for urban development. Ldp+Partners is an Egyptian solidarity partnership company, founded in 2011 to raise and promote the quality of architecture and engineering services provided in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
