Real estate stakeholders discuss investor challenges in New Capital

New Capital project requires more flexibility to support real estate companies as purchasing power declines, says Mohamed Albostany

Mohamed Albostany, President of the New Cairo and New Capital Developers Association, has revealed that coordination is underway with the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), the owner and developer for the New Administrative Capital (NAC) in Egypt.
The two sides are set to hold periodic meetings to discuss recent decisions issued by the ACUD related to suspending sales of housing units in NAC until after ministerial decisions and licences are issued.
Albostany said that this decision might harm a number of developers who have offered their projects in the recent period.
He intends to meet with ACUD Chairperson Ahmed Zaki Abdeen to present some of the problems and challenges developers face in operating in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) project.
This is in addition to reaching solutions and granting some flexibility to support investors and businesspeople within the project.
Albostany further said that the NAC project represents Egypt's future, and serves as a compass for the real estate sector.
This sector requires that there be flexibility and ease of procedures, as support for investors within the NAC.
He pointed out that the ACUD played a major role in attracting investors, whether inside or outside Egypt. This was with a view to invest inside the new city due to the speed of decision-making and the completion of procedures related to ministerial approvals for projects that took years in other government agencies.
Nevertheless, developers hope for greater flexibility related to the period specified for the completion of projects, or with regard to payments of required instalments.
"The NAC will remain the best place to invest for the next 100 years, and that it is a thermometer in real estate market, and is one of the state's means to attract foreign investment to Egypt at the present time," Albostany said, "Additionally, citizens from all segments and governorates want to live in the new city."
He noted that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's interest in the NAC gives the project added value. Furthermore, the smart real estate investor is the one who invests in more than one project at the NAC, because it is Egypt's future project, Albostany added.
He pointed out that the NAC holds 70% of the existing sales value in the local real estate market, supported by several main factors. The most prominent of these are the government's support for the project, and the establishment of an unprecedented smart infrastructure in the city.
In addition, the NAC boasts good planning, and with the government set to move to its own district there, the development is expected to push a real boom in promoting the project during the next year.
Last week, the ACUD issued a statement warning citizens against buying residential or non-residential units from companies operating in the NAC, unless they have made sure that the companies have obtained ministerial approval and building permits for buildings of all kinds.
The company said, "It must also be ensured that the developer begins construction according to the timetable for each project, and follows up on the implementation as soon as instalments are paid."
It added that the reservation of any real estate unit is a bilateral relationship between citizen and developer, and the ACUD has no interference in it. Moreover, the NAC is an open market for all, and the ACUD is working to follow up on all companies operating in it.