New Urban Communities Authority’s (NUCA) board of directors approved on June 17 a mechanism to deal with investors’ requests for land plots offered in new cities, endeavoring to facilitate purchase procedures and boost investment inflows in the newly-introduced areas, Invest-Gate reports.

The new system includes the authorization of NUCA’s planning and projects sector, in coordination with the new cities’ authorities, for the direct assignment of land activities (residential, commercial, medical, etc.) and sizes to identify the available areas, based on the investor’s request and the development priorities of each city, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar said in an official statement.

In parallel, the request is mandatorily referred to the pricing committee to determine the plots’ value, given the continuous fluctuations in prices, the minister noted.

Meanwhile, applicants have to submit the feasibility studies and financial solvencies of their intended projects, along with all the necessary documents, to be thoroughly studied by the state’s financial and administrative affairs, El Gazzar revealed. Then, a 10% deposit of the lands’ value is payable at the time of applying as a sign of serious interest in the plots, but in case of non-compliance, 50% of the reservation deposit will be deducted, he added

On the other hand, selected applicants are required to pay an additional 10% of the land value within either 30 days from the invoice date if paying in EGP or 60 days if in USD. If the payment is not made within the notice period, the application will be terminated with no prior warning and the plot will be extended to another entrant, the minister underlined.

El Gazzar explained that in case of contention on certain lands, regardless of the activity, the applications will be submitted to NUCA’s board for evaluation, with priority given to full-dollar payments, those paying the highest possible price in USD, and candidates submitting the shortest project implementation plan (supported by a timetable studied and approved by the concerned committee), according to the statement.

Submitters of such cases are then notified for a trade-off meeting by mail, fax, or e-mail to decide upon closers. If any of those applicants are not present on that date, this shall be regarded as an exception to the application, with no warning or notice, El Gazzar remarked, confirming that same grounds may apply in case of EGP payments.

For his part, Deputy Chairman of NUCA for Real Estate and Commercial Affairs Tarek El Sebai stressed that if paying in USD, the value of installments is first determined in EGP and it is then estimated in USD, based on its exchange rate at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), at the time of payment. However, this does not apply to residential plots of all kinds and cemeteries.

After landowners are selected, a committee is then formed by a decision of the deputy chairman – or El Sebai, for the allocation of shops, commercial spots, and projects of up to 5,000 square meters of industrial activities of all kinds, he elucidated.