Qatar will invest USD 29.7 bn — not a typo — to develop its much anticipated North Coast project through an agreement between the Qatar Investment Authority-owned Qatari Diar and New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), a government source told EnterpriseAM. The project along the Mediterranean in the Alam El Roum area will reportedly include upscale residential areas, marinas, touristic amenities, and even schools, universities, and government buildings.

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Diar will pay USD 3.5 bn for the land and contribute USD 26.2 bn in in-kind investments to develop the project. The project is part of a wider USD 7.5 bn direct investment package from the Gulf nation, which also includes a USD 3.5 bn direct investment into a Red Sea project between Diar and Marriott-owned hospitality chain St. Regis.

Good news for the state coffers is also good news for our upcoming reviews with the IMF, as the lack of continued sizable foreign direct investments has been brought up by the Fund as a sticking point preventing it from greenlighting the fifth and sixth reviews of the country’s USD 8 bn loan program. The whole USD 3.5 bn will be sent to the central bank in the coming days and NUCA will receive 15% of the revenues from the project moving forward.

The government is preparing for the big reveal today, when the media assembles for the official signing and announcement of the project.

The government will handle the settlement of land ownership issues in the Alam El Roum area by compensating landowners or offering them alternative plots, the source told us. It will also be responsible for providing utilities and extending roads to support the large-scale investment in the area. The project’s goal is to boost tourism and create a year-round destination similar to the UAE’s Ras El Hekma.

The project would mark the largest Qatari investment in Egypt since the two sides restored diplomatic ties in 2021..

More Gulf investments coming our way: Saudi Arabia is planning to convert some of its USD10.3 bn in deposits into investments. Kuwait is also in discussions to convert the USD 4 bn of deposits it holds in Egypt’s central bank into direct investments across several sectors.

REMEMBER- Egypt is working towards attracting USD 42 bn in net FDI this fiscal year, with plans to increase that figure to USD 55 bn in FY 2028-2029. Meanwhile, the country’s net FDI fell to USD 12.2 bn in the last fiscal year from USD 46.1 bn a year earlier, when inflows were inflated by the Ras El Hekma agreement.

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