By Andrew Mills
(Reuters) -Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of Doha’s sovereign wealth fund, will invest $29.7 billion in a luxury development including golf courses and marinas on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, a source with direct knowledge said on Wednesday.
The development aims to turn Alam Al-Roum, an undeveloped 7-km (4.4 mile) stretch of coastline 480 km northwest of Cairo, into a year-round destination that will attract tourists and will also have luxury neighbourhoods, schools, universities and government facilities.
Egypt has for years been pushing to secure foreign investments, especially from wealthy Gulf states, as it seeks to tackle heavy foreign debts and a gaping budget deficit.
The development would be the largest Qatari investment in the country since diplomatic relations were restored following the 2017–2021 economic rift when Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and aligning too closely with Iran, charges Doha denied.
LAND AND IN-KIND INVESTMENT TERMS
The agreement with Egypt’s New Urban Communities Authority includes a payment of $3.5 billion for the land and an in-kind investment of $26.2 billion to build the project that will cover an area of 1,985 hectares (4,900 acres), the source said.
A communications company that represents Qatari Diar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation or comment.
The Egyptian government said in an invitation to reporters that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly would witness on Thursday the signing of an Egyptian-Qatari partnership deal to develop the “Similla and Alam Al-Roum” area in Matrouh province.
The deal, part of a broader $7.5 billion investment pledge Doha made this year, could help unlock around $2.5 billion in disbursements under an $8 billion financial support package that Egypt signed with the International Monetary Fund in March 2024.
The lack of a Qatari investment that Egypt had promised the IMF would materialise by June was the main reason the IMF held up disbursements under the biannual review, two financial sources said.
Egypt’s sovereign bonds, which had been trading lower earlier in the day, flipped to gains of up to 0.72 cents, with the 2059 maturity bid at 86.92 cents on the dollar.
The development is expected to generate annual revenue of at least $1.8 billion, 15% of which will be allocated to the New Urban Communities Authority after the company recovers its total investment cost, the source said.
MED COAST POSITIONED AS NEW TOURISM HUB
The Qatari investment is seen as a strategic counterpart to the United Arab Emirates’ Ras El-Hekma development and part of Egypt’s broader push to attract Gulf capital to its North Coast and position the region as a Mediterranean tourism and investment hub.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has also been weighing acquiring land at Ras Gamila near Sharm El-Sheikh on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The Saudi tourism minister said last week the kingdom had not yet made a decision about such an investment and that it was prioritising the development of new tourism projects at home.
Qatari Diar’s existing holdings in Egypt include the St. Regis Cairo hotel and apartments and CityGate and NEWGIZA – planned residential developments on the outskirts of Cairo.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills in Beirut; Additional reporting by Patrick Werr, Momen Saeed Attallah in Cairo and Libby George in London; Editing by Jan Harvey, Kim Coghill and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
