CAIRO-An Egyptian watchdog said on Satuday the Government's sale of a vast plot of land to a prominent real estate company, which has been recently scrapped by an administrative court and waits for an appeal, violated the law. "We have submitted a report to the People's Assembly (the Lawer House of the Parliament) on the sale of Madinaty land sale to Talaat Moustafa Group. The report cited bare violations of laws," Gawdat el-Malt, the head of the Central Auditing Agency (CAA). El-Malt added that the contract had violated the Bids Law, and gave the buyer company some many concessions in violation of other laws. "The( governmental) New Urban Community Authority underestimated the land and decided to get housing units not funds as a price. This also violates its bylaw," el-Malt, a former judge, said. Egypt's Higher Administrative Court is set to pass its ruling on the appeal of Talaat Moustafa Group's Madinaty land deal on September 14. A lower court ruled in June that the New Urban Communities Authority, affiliated to the Housing Ministry, broke the law when it sold the land directly to the company instead of opening it up to bidding, and the contract should be scrapped. An administrative panel affiliated to the court this month said it recommended to the court that the contract for the purchase of land be annulled. Talaat Moustafa is the country's largest listed real-estate company.
