What are we talking about when we talk about Sahel?

Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to a very special issue of EnterpriseAM — it’s the first issue of a four-part series we’re running this summer about the North Coast — or as we love to call it: our very own Sahel. The subject is exactly what it says on the tin: Sahel as a holiday destination. As an investment destination. And as a business destination.

Sahel is the opportunity we squandered — until now: More than 40 years ago, policymakers thought they had the formula to unlock the North Coast: hand out long stretches of beachfront to the public sector and to professional syndicates at reduced prices — and hope that development would follow. The outcome? A string of closed-off compounds, used only a handful of weekends a year, sitting on one of the country’s most valuable assets.

The Sahel of today bears little resemblance to its humble origins. From New Alamein City with its Dubai-style high rises to the Marassis and Haciendas that have captured the attention of Gulf (and even global audiences) on Instagram and Tiktok, Sahel is one of the most exciting investment opportunities in the nation today. Their potential to generate foreign direct investment is credibly measured in the USD bns.

It took just one project to change the conversation. Last year, the UAE’s USD 35 bn Ras ElHekma came onto the scene with a USD 150 bn plan to develop a 170 sq km city — challenging Europe’s top Mediterranean destinations. The project, still on the drawing boards at Modon as policymakers work on the legislative framework that will make it possible, is already pushing developers and the government alike to rethink what the North Coast can and should be.

What we’re really talking about when we talk about Sahel: The government defines the Western North Coast as a 500 km stretch from Alamein to Salloum, backed by a 280 km desert hinterland — totaling around 160k sq km, with a plan to develop the whole of it by 2052 and create some 11 mn jobs. Add to this what is called the Central North Coast, which starts from the end of Alexandria and runs up to El Alamein. We’re talking about a massive geographical expanse open to urban, tourism, industrial, and logistics development, and more.

Only piece of the gigantic pie: The Ras El Hekma project alone is expected to generate USD 25 bn in annual returns. That’s just a sliver of what the broader Sahel could unlock.

In this four-part series, we’ll look at the North Coast through the lens of business, investment, and summer vacations — whether you’re Egyptian, a foreign resident, or a visitor flying in to Egypt for a holiday. We’ll ask how the region is transforming (from old Sahel and Alamien to Ras El Hekma and Matrouh), who the next wave of visitors and investors will be, and what it takes to turn the coastline into a true, year-round economic engine.

Up first: Some of the nation’s top real estate CEOs and analysts talk to us about what Ras El Hekma could mean for the nation.

EnterpriseAM Destination Sahel is the first in our new, occasional series of special issues that take deep dives into issues and ideas that matter, shaping opportunity for us all in business and in life. We’ll be back next month with the second issue in this series.