20,000 housing units to be built across 8 new cities

Acting on directives issued by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at "Egypt Forum 2026", Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Eng. Randa El-Menshawy witnessed, at the government headquarters in the New Capital, the signing of a package of partnership agreements between the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund and a group of private-sector real estate developers. The aim is to provide housing units for low-income citizens under the presidential initiative "Housing for All Egyptians".

The agreements were signed by Dr. Ahmed Reda Emara, supervisor of the Real Estate and Commercial Affairs sector at the New Urban Communities Authority, and May Abdel Hamid, CEO of the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund.

On the private-sector side, the agreements were signed by Mohamed Ashraf Mahmoud Farag, board member of "Ashraf Farag Real Estate Investment"; Eng. Ayman Ben Khalifa, CEO of Arab Developers Group, owner of "Neom Pyramids for Real Estate Development"; Mostafa Mahmoud Rady El-Bahwashy, representative of "Tamas Saudi Construction Ltd."; and Manal Hussein Abdel Razek, chair of "NCM Contracting".

The private-sector signatories also included Ahmed Shedid Mahmoud Hassan, chair of "Misr Construction ENCO Misr and Nawasi Real Estate"; Amr Mohamed Naguib Abdel Moneim, manager and partner at "Opal Contracting"; Mohsen Shedid Mahmoud Hassan, manager and partner at "Al Hegaz General Contracting" (Mohsen Shedid & Partners); Faisal Shedid Mahmoud Hassan, chair of "Al Agouza General Contracting"; and Ahmed Ashraf Ahmed Abdel Maksoud, chairman and managing director of the Egyptian Company for Urban Development and Tourism Investment.

Representatives of real estate development companies also included Mostafa Mohamed Ali Rabie Hanafy, general partner at "Al Salam Contracting"; Mahmoud Ahmed Abdel Meguid, manager of "Al Fedaa Investment and Development"; Mohamed Nageh Hamed Mohamed, owner of "Mohamed Nageh Abd Rabbo Contracting"; and Emad Badry Mostafa, manager and partner at "El Badry Investment".

Also attending the signing were Dr. Walid Abbas, Deputy Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, and a number of World Bank officials, reflecting the bank's full support for the project.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Housing Minister Eng. Randa El-Menshawy said the partnership initiative had been launched between the state, represented by the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund and the New Urban Communities Authority, and private-sector real estate developers, with the aim of providing housing units for low-income citizens under the President's "Housing for All Egyptians" initiative.

She added that the agreements signed today reflect the state's drive to involve the private sector across development fields and draw on its varied expertise, as well as to make the provision of suitable housing for citizens more sustainable, and to support and develop private-sector mechanisms for supplying different types of housing to the real estate market.

The minister continued: the partnership model rests on a clear, integrated division of roles among the participating parties, ensuring the programme's social goals are met while drawing on the private sector's efficiency in execution.

May Abdel Hamid, CEO of the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund, explained that the partnership model relies on a mechanism that balances the social dimension with economic viability for developers. 80% of each project is allocated to affordable housing units offered to eligible citizens at the prices and under the rules set by the Fund, ensuring the programme keeps delivering on its core goal of providing suitable housing at affordable prices.

In return, she added, 20% of the project is allocated to commercial units or activities that are developed and marketed at market prices. This gives the developer a source of suitable investment return, strengthening the project's economic viability and encouraging wider participation. Land is also allocated to developers at preferential prices, which helps lower development costs and balances the state's social goals with the sustained participation of the private sector in affordable housing projects.

The Fund's CEO said 104 real estate developers had submitted 137 applications to reserve 17 plots of land in the first phase of the programme, which targets around 20,000 housing units across 8 new cities.

May Abdel Hamid stressed that this reflects the private sector's confidence in the new model and confirms the market's readiness to take part in social housing projects in partnership with the state, with mortgage finance available to beneficiaries at a declining interest rate of 8% and repayment periods of up to 20 years.

She added that the model makes land available at preferential prices in cooperation with the New Urban Communities Authority, with 80% of units allocated to social housing and 20% to commercial units offered at market prices, providing a source of profit for the developer.

Walid Al-Etaibany, World Bank Regional Director, said: "This partnership is part of the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund's efforts to develop the housing finance system for low- and limited-income citizens. Partnership with the private sector is one of the main pillars of the inclusive finance programme the Fund is running with the World Bank, backed by USD 1 billion in financing since 2014. The programme has met its indicators, aimed at improving the efficiency of finance mechanisms, widening access to finance, supporting limited- and low-income citizens, and attracting more investment to help meet the target groups' needs for suitable housing units."

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