More crowds, more Gulf visitors: Sahel hits peak summer

Hello everyone and welcome to Destination Sahel issue #3. Things have gotten significantly more crowded on the Coast since we last published. The difference between a late July weekend and an early August weekend are drastic. Bigger crowds mean more demand on services and infrastructure. Fortunately, we have not experienced the dark summer that many of us feared when the war on Iran started in late February, but frequent power outages and water cuts are still a normal part of summer in Sahel.

More electricity generation capacity is on the way. In addition to the four new substations that are due to be built on the North Coast over the next two years, the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant’s first reactor is also scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2028. We have all the details on Dabaa and what it means for the future of the North Coast’s touristic, residential and industrial development.

We continue to see more and more of our GCC friends in Sahel. One first time Sahel visitor from Saudi Arabia that we spoke to pointed out that the Egyptian concept of ‘Masyaf’ (summer vacation) is something that GCC residents are discovering and loving. “It’s very special to have your community gather in one place for the summer vs. individual families traveling abroad to different countries,” she said. “Many people I know, myself included, now want to experience ‘El Masyaf’ and there is no better place to do that than Egypt,” she adds.

Catering to a regional clientele with strong purchasing power means upping the retail and hospitality game. Last week Sahel saw the launch of new luxury menswear brand ASH at an exclusive sunset event at La Plage by La Maison Ani in Hacienda White. Founded by prominent Egyptian actor Asser Yassin, and his partners Islam Yassin, Seif Shimy, and Mariam Darwish, the brand debuted its first collection which includes summer wardrobe staples like linen shorts, classic Ts and short-sleeved buttondowns. In this issue we have chapter and verse on the burgeoning luxury retail market in Sahel.

Health and wellness are not taken lightly in Sahel. Planning out the week or the month’s fitness schedule often takes precedence over work and social commitments. Catering to the wellness-obsessed audience People&Places’ The Med held Awaken 2.0, an event that brought in global wellness celebrities like Wim Hof, the man who made ice plunges famous, and Akiniko, co-founder and CEO of the boutique fitness brand aarmy. In case you haven’t found the right workout in Sahel yet check out our fitness guide.

PSA

If you haven’t registered your Sahel property with the Real Estate Tax Authority (RTA) yet, make sure you do so before September. The Finance Ministry has deployed field committees to sweep chalets, villas, and other properties across North Coast resorts to identify units missing from their records. Property owners who voluntarily register their units before the end of September can benefit from the exemptions and incentives.

The debate over beach access has now reached the presidency

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has ordered the immediate formation of a government committee to inspect tourism-designated coastal land and ensure citizens can access beaches in line with existing regulations. The directive also calls for strict enforcement of laws governing coastal development, including requiring prior approval from the relevant state authorities for any structures or works within 200 meters of the shoreline.

And inspections will not stop at the beaches: The Housing Ministry is working to form field committees to review developer violations, project delivery delays, and violations of beachfront setback rules, with reports to be submitted to the ministry before being presented to the president, a government source told EnterpriseAM.

Some industry figures are calling for tighter regulation: Real Estate Development Chamber member Alaa Fekry is calling for a developers’ federation, a classification system for real estate companies, a specialized real estate court to handle disputes involving developers, and a digital registry of contracts to prevent double-selling. He also wants land allocations tied more closely to developers’ financial solvency and developers to complete at least 30% of a project before being allowed to sell units.

The move comes just weeks after we looked at the growing controversy over beach access in Sahel. Owners have pushed back against tighter guest-access rules and fees for accessing some prime beach locations, while 22 Marassi owners have reportedly taken Emaar Misr to court over claims that large stretches of beach were allocated to hotels and resorts in violation of their ownership contracts. The presidential directive is broader than Marassi and does not address the dispute specifically, but it puts the wider question of public access to Egypt’s coastline, and how beachfront land is used by private developments, firmly under the government’s spotlight.

The North Coast investment story continues to develop

More Gulf capital is moving from big-ticket agreements into execution and a growing pipeline of new developments. Qatari Diar has launched the EGP 220 bn first phase of its USD 29.7 bn Alam El Roum megacity, putting a 2030 delivery target on the first 4 mn sqm of the development. At the same time, an unnamed Emirati investor has been selected for an EGP 135 bn partnership to develop the 642-feddan Jefaira plot, while another group of Qatari investors is studying nearly EGP 6 bn of North Coast projects through joint ventures with Egyptian partners. Together with the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement, the latest moves are reinforcing the North Coast’s position as one of Egypt’s biggest destinations for Gulf real estate and tourism investment.

Infrastructure is starting to follow the investment pipeline. The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company is planning an initial EGP 6.5 bn investment in four new 220 kV substations over the next two years to support rising electricity demand from New Alamein and the expanding pipeline of tourism and urban developments.