Today, we’ve got, not one, but two big ticket developments with investments from abroad to report on, both of which will be buying land for their projects using much-need foreign currencies.

ANOTHER EMIRATI DEVELOPMENT IN CAIRO IS IN THE WORKS-

New Cairo will soon be home to a new EGP 60 bn development: UDC Real Estate Development, a subsidiary of UAE-based Mohammad Omar Bin Haider Holding Group (MOBH), has received a land plot in New Cairo’s Al Andalus to build a EGP 60 bn mixed-use development. UDC and the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) inked the land allocation agreement yesterday, according to a cabinet readout.

Introducing, The Crest: The project — dubbed The Crest — will span some 665k sqm and willfeature residential, administrative, entertainment, commercial, and hospitality units. UDC will work on the project in cooperation with Cairo-based property developer IL Cazar, the statement reads, without specifying what role IL Cazar will play.

UDC is paying in FX for the land, according to company CEO Mohamed Al Battarni. This comes at a time when the state is in desperate need of more foreign currency inflows amid the ongoing FX crunch and the looming currency devaluation. The statement did not disclose how much of the total EGP 60 bn investment would go towards acquiring the piece of land.

The project marks MOBH’s first entry into the Egyptian market, but the company is already looking forward to further cooperation with the Madbouly government, Al Battarni said.

What’s next? UDC will prepare the project’s general plan and construction schedule andpresent it within six months. The eight-year construction period will kick off once the plan and schedule are approved.

ALSO FROM THE CONSTRUCTION SITE-

The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) has awarded NHMC Egypt — the local arm of the UK-based healthcare, finance, and technology-focussed conglomerate NHMC Group — a plot of land in East Cairo’s Shorouk City to set up a USD 300 mn medical and educational complex alongside a residential and commercial project under a contract inked by the two parties yesterday, according to a cabinet statement.

In detail: The project will host a private hospital developed in partnership with American pharma and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson. Another hospital will also be set up in partnership with the University of Buckingham. The medical and education complex will also include a sports academy that can cater for those with special needs and an international school. While the adjacent residential and commercial area area will include villas, apartments, malls, hotel apartments, and healthcare-focused administrative buildings.

FX incoming: The land will be paid for in foreign currency transferred from abroad, the statement indicates.

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