According to Egyptian Exchange, the board of directors at El-Shams for Housing and Construction (ELSH.CA) has approved the recommendations of the Audit Committee concerning the note filed by the technical sector consulting engineer and the head of executive sector. The  Audit Committee has commended extending the participation agreement  with the Upper Egypt General Contracting company. This agreement has been concluded for financing and establishing 70 buildings in the 6th of October city. More»

The UAE faced a real estate mortgage crisis similar to that of the United States but managed to avert the problem thanks to strong government financial support, according to the Central Bank. The UAE, the second largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, had been through conditions similar to those that jolted the real estate markets of the US, Japan and other industrial nations, the Central Bank said in its 45-page financial stability review report. It said real estate booms and busts can have far-reaching consequences for the banking system as was the case in the US savings and loans crisis in the 1980s, Japan and Sweden in the 1990s, and more recently the US subprime crisis. It noted that the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified 46 systemic banking crises in which more than two-thirds were preceded by boom-bust patterns in house prices. "The UAE real estate market witnessed a similar pattern," it said. More»

According to  Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Heliopolis Company for Housing and Construction (HELI.CA) has announced selling 9 plots during the auction held on the 20th of September 2012, at a total cost of EGP 14983906.These plots will be used for establishing residential villas in the Fifth District of New Heliopolis. The down payment , which amounts to EGP 4501586, has to be made during September 2012,  while the rest will be paid by equal installments with an interest rate of 7% during a period ranging from 10 to 15 years.

A session held under the title  of "construction environment and housing indicators" stressed on the need to establish a link between the political views of governors, needs of citizens, and the technical approach adopted by planners. The session also highlighted the importance of indicators that convey correct data. They called upon preparing a guidance to govern the implementation of schemes in order to facilitate the revision and performance assessment and minimize the gap between planners and those responsible for the implementation. They also demanded designing qualitative indicators that take into consideration the different circumstances of each city. The session noted that the urban observatory will have a positive impact on the country's advancement despite the fact that all provided data are inaccurate and need to be reviewed from different parties specialized in providing statistics. The session also pointed out to the problems of licenses that have been under discussion since more than 30 years, recommending resolving these problem as fast as possible. More»

Sohag security directorate has enforced 27 judicial and administrative judgements last Thursday. Some of these judgments have been directed towards encroachments on agricultural plots. In a statement issued last Friday, the directorate stated that  the committee formed to supervise the delivery of a plot, with a space of 3025 meters, allocated for establishing public projects, was accompanied by security groups. This was included in report no. 455, administrative section of 2012). More»

The Downtown Burj Dubai area is fast becoming one of the most desirable addresses in the world, according to Damac Properties. The real estate company has praised the recent announcement by Emaar Properties to develop a new hotel in the area, delivering a further 200 hotel rooms and 542 serviced apartments by mid-2015. "The Burj Area is now one of the most desirable locations on earth," Damac senior vice-president Niall McLoughlin said. "The announcement by Emaar to start work on another five-star hotel and serviced apartments in the area will only add to the exquisite ambience and style which has grown in stature over the past few years." Emaar announced that construction will start shortly on the 63-storey, 340 metre high "The Address The BLVD" serviced residences and hotel rooms. "The development of a new project further confirms our statements that the Dubai property market is well and truly back. Serviced apartments will be a huge market in the coming years. We are also experiencing an impressive uptake in the Damac Suites & Spa managed hotel apartments in the Burj Area which will be completed and ready for handover early next year," added McLoughlin. More»

Major General Ahmed Zaky Abdeen, Minister of Local Development, stated that Egypt has professional cadres and experts in planning. He noted that the problem of urban development in Egypt is attributed to the political instability witnessed by the country during the transition period, in which dozens of projects have been planned but not activated yet. Abdeen said there are a number of criteria that must be considered when conducting planning studies on urban development, including the areas in which the apartments will be built, in addition to the targeted  groups of people. He suggested starting by a number of cities that meet the previously-mentioned criteria and can act as pilot model.

Six of October Development & Investment (SODIC) – (OCDI.CA) ha ssaid it was notified yesterday of an arbitration lawsuit filed on September 16th by Solidere Egypt, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lebanon’s Solidere International, with claims of paying EGP 237.5 million plus interest and expenses. SODIC added that such an arbitration lawsuit is invalid, since it was filed after SODIC had filed an earlier arbitration lawsuit in the same dispute. More»

A number of experts confirmed on the sidelines of  a session held for  discussing "the construction environment and housing indicators", that the Egyptian National Urban Observatory plays an important role in supporting the decisions related to urban development by setting new priorities for the local market. Mostafa Madbouly, Urban Planning and Development Authority, stated that the Egyptian National Urban Observatory launched by the Authority several years ago aims at providing decision-makers with indicators about the status of housing, utilities, environment, and services. He also pointed out that a number of international agreements have been concluded for developing this observatory, which covers 7 economic centers in Egypt including Cairo, Aswan, Tanta, Ismailia, Minia, Assuit, and Aswan. More»

The New Urban Communities Authority will start providing utilities for "Bayt Al Watan" Project after closing the door for applying for the project. Eng. Amin Abdel-moneim, Vice Chairman of NUCA, stated that NUCA will determine the plots that will be provided with utilities after the deadline. He added that NUCA wil deliver the plots next January, as scheduled, refuting rumors that the Ministry of Housing declared that delivery would be in December. More»