Emirati real estate giant Aldar Properties is interested in co-developing Heliopolis Housing and Development’s (HHD) Heliopark project, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter.

Nothing is set in stone: HHD is yet to receive any official offers for its Heliopark project, the real estate developer said in an EGX disclosure (pdf) yesterday. The company is considering how to finance the Heliopark project and won’t wrap up its studies until after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Al Mal quotes its sources as saying, adding that attracting USD investment is likely a top priority for HHD.

REMEMBER- HHD is on the hunt for a new co-developer… The state-owned, EGX-listed company put the New Cairo project back out to tender after scrapping a partnership agreement with Mountain View earlier this year, citing the current economic conditions and rising land valuations. Mountain View had been set to invest some EGP 1.4 bn in exchange for an undisclosed share in the revenues of Heliopark over a 23-25 year period, which Heliopolis Housing at the time estimated could total some EGP 397 bn.

…and Aldar is reportedly on the hunt for a new project. The company is looking at alternatives after a potential acquisition of Orascom for Real Estate (ORE) by its subsidiary SODIC fell through, according to Al Mal. SODIC — majority owned by Aldar and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ since 2021 — and ORE owner Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) pulled the plug on acquisition talks last week without citing a reason, putting to bed SODIC’s offer to acquire 100% of ORE for almost EGP 2.5 bn.

Could Aldar be eyeing more than just Heliopark? Earlier this year Asharq Business reportedthat the state-owned parent of Heliopolis Housing was in talks with unnamed Gulf investors to sell off land and other assets as well as to invest in Heliopark. A source at the parent company denied to Enterprise at the time that any land sales were in the offing, characterizing the potential arrangement as a partnership.

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