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ADQ, the Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, will lead a consortium investing $35 billion in Egypt’s Ras El-Hekma development, ending weeks of speculation.
Ras El-Hekma is a new waterfront urban tourism destination coming up as a part of the Egypt’s North Coast development project.
ADQ will acquire the development rights for Ras El-Hekma for $24 billion to develop the region into one of the largest new city developments.
As part of this investment, ADQ will also convert $11 billion of deposits to be utilised for investment in prime projects across the country “to support its economic growth and development”, a statement read.
The Egyptian government will retain a 35% stake in Ras El-Hekma development.
Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated the country will receive $35 billion in down payment for the Ras Al Hekma deal, including $15 billion upfront and $20 billion within two months, according to Daily News Egypt.
The Prime Minister further explained during the media address that the first payment of the deal includes $10bln in direct liquidity from abroad, in addition to the UAE waiving $5bln of its deposits at the Central Bank of Egypt, the Daily News Egypt quoted him as saying.
According to officials, the development is expected to attract over $150 billion in investments, with Egypt to retail 35% of the project profits, according to the Prime Minister.
“Foreign direct investment through Ras El-Hekma development deal contributes to eliminating the parallel market for foreign currency in Egypt,” Madbouly said further.
He added that ADQ will establish Ras El-Hekma Company as an Egyptian joint stock company to develop Ras El-Hekma City on an area of 170.8 million square meters.
Work on the project expected to commence in early 2025.
In his media address, Madbouly also announced that Egypt was close to finalising agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the European Union (EU) to secure sufficient foreign currency, the Daily News Egypt reported, adding him saying that these agreements would help to stabilise the Egyptian economy and improve the country’s credit rating.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
