Saudi investors request “golden licenses” to establish real estate projects in Egypt

Saudi real estate companies that participated in the Saudi-Egyptian Business Forum submitted a request to the Egyptian Ministry of Housing to provide golden licenses for Saudi real estate projects intended to be implemented in Egypt, to accelerate their implementation rates.

Saudi real estate development companies

A member of the National Committee for Entrepreneurship at the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Adel bin Dakhil Al-Jamaan, said that Saudi real estate development companies are looking forward to obtaining facilities from the Egyptian government to complete real estate investment procedures and obtain official approvals, similar to the industrial sector that enjoys these facilities after the approval of the golden license.

Al-Jamaan explained that the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Housing promised Saudi real estate development companies during joint meetings on the sidelines of the Egyptian-Saudi Business Forum, which was held in Cairo on November 20, to present the matter to the Egyptian government and respond within two days.

Golden license

The golden license is considered a single approval to establish, operate and manage a project, including building permits and allocating the necessary real estate for it. It may be granted to companies by decision of the Council of Ministers, and it is issued within 20 working days only.

Al-Jamaan said that the golden license will help Saudi development companies complete the necessary licenses and procedures that require a long period, within a few weeks.

Anticipated investments

Al-Jamaan, who holds the position of director of the Saudi “Nahu.El-Enjaz” Company for Real Estate Investment and Development, indicated that his company is studying implementing investments in the real estate sector in the Egyptian market worth up to one billion pounds.

He said that the " Nahu.El-Enjaz" company asked the Ministry of Housing to nominate plots of land in the Fifth Settlement, to be purchased with dollars, to establish a residential project, in addition to studying some other opportunities in a number of new cities.

On the other hand, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Al-Lami Holding Group, Muhammad Talaat Al-Lami, said that the group is looking forward to investing $150 million in tourism and real estate projects in Egypt during the coming period.

New investments

Al-Lami explained that the new investments will be directed to implementing a hotel in Sharm El-Sheikh worth $50 million, and various real estate projects in New Cairo and 6th of October cities worth $100 million.

Al-Lami Group owns two hotels in Egypt (InterContinental Sharm El-Sheikh and Crowne Plaza), each with 700 rooms.

Al-Lami stated that the new investments that the group intends to pump will enter into force following the signing of the Mutual Investment Protection Agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The company's president said, "Egypt is a country that contains opportunities that do not exist in any country in the world, but the problem is bureaucracy and investment obstacles."

Government efforts to expand the granting of the golden license

The Egyptian Minister of Industry, Ahmed Samir, said during his participation in the Saudi-Egyptian Business Forum that Egypt is considering expanding the granting of golden licenses to include several sectors in addition to industrial and petroleum projects.

The minister added that Egypt gives priority to the industrial sector, out of a desire to increase its contribution to the gross domestic product, which declined from 19% to 17% after the Corona crisis, so it expanded in granting it all possible facilities.