Gates Developments CEO Hassan Nasr

With the continuous economic challenges facing Egypt and its real estate market, Invest-Gate sits with Gates Developments CEO Hassan Nasr, the leading real estate developer, to discuss the investment climate in the Egyptian real estate market, its main challenges, and the company’s plan for the coming period.

What are the current investments of Gates Developments? 

Our company has a promising plan and seeks to expand in the east and west of Cairo, NAC, the Red Sea, and the North Coast to keep pace with the government’s development plan in new cities. Gates Developments has a diverse investment portfolio and offers different projects worth EGP 9 bn, including Venia Compound, Audaz Mall, and Catalan Compound in NAC. The company also owns West Gate Mall in 6th of October City and Plaza Espana Mall in Sheikh Zayed.

Our land portfolio reaches 533,400 sqm with plans for further acquisitions soon. We also set short-term and long-term plans to achieve about EGP 3.2 bn in sales in 2022.

What are the impact of the Russian- Ukrainian War and the high inflation rate on the company’s investments?

Undoubtedly, the Russian-Ukrainian War raised the prices of building materials from 40% to 50%. Everyone, today, knows that real estate is a safe haven for investment. We, at Gates Developments, work to overcome these challenges without loss and plan to launch new phases to keep pace with the increasing prices. Gates Developments can overcome such challenges with its 28-year experienced subsidiary company that is the strongest in the construction field in Egypt.

What are the expectations of Gates Developments for the future of the Egyptian real estate market in light of the current challenges?

Real estate investment is one of the main pillars of the economy due to the huge demand of units despite this natural slowdown. Recently, companies achieved satisfactory sales despite the major challenges. In my opinion, the market will retrieve soon and we must consider global fluctuations and their effects on the Egyptian market.

I believe the coming period will see giant alliances of companies to overcome the crisis. Gates Developments, in turn, supports this idea by partnering with The Management House to manage its projects in the NAC, besides cooperation with many distinguished companies in the Egyptian market. Others have partnered with companies from MENA due to the the market’s potential.

Would you give us an update on the company’s latest developments, implementation rates, and deliveries?

Gates Developments owns five projects, namely AUDAZ, located in the Business District in NAC and spans over ​​four acres (16,800 m). The project features two buildings A & B with 750 units varying between administrative, commercial, and medical with various areas starting from 46 m to 110 m, while the commercial units start from 19 m – 85 m. The implementation rate of the project reached 80%. Additionally, AUDAZ’s total investments have reached EGP 2.5 bn and it is scheduled to be delivered in October 2022.

The company’s second project is CATALAN, located in the R7 area in ​ NAC. The project spans over ​​40 acres and features a commercial mall and 850 residential units varying between villas starting from 480 m to 650 m, apartments starting from 164 m, and duplexes starting from 382 m. The project includes Catalan Commercial Mall and 65% of its construction has been completed. The project’s total investments have reached EGP 2 bn and it is scheduled to be delivered in October of 2023.

 Venia is located in the R7 area in ​​NAC and spans over ​​40 acres. It features a commercial mall; 50% of its construction has been completed. The project’s unit sizes start from 136 m to 222 m. Moreover, Venia is scheduled to be delivered in November 2024 with EGP 2.4 bn- investments.

The fourth project is West Gate, located in the heart of the 6th of October. West Gate is a mixed-use project that spans over four acres. The implementation rate of the project reached 90%. West Gate’s units start from 85 m to 300 m, with EGP 1 bn- investments.

The fifth project is Plaza Espana, located in Sheikh Zayed on over ​​four acres. The project’s construction has been fully completed with various spaces starting from 40 m.

On the other hand, Gates Developments’ projects have modern designs and master plans which include different landscapes. We are keen to achieve sustainability in all of our projects, provideour customers with pre-sales services, and directly connect, in addition to presenting a group of innovative solutions exceed our customers’ expectations. Our projects are considered a real model of integrated real estate projects.

Where is Gates Developments heading next in terms of investments?

Gates Developments has an expansion plan in the Egyptian real estate market, specifically in West Cairo. The company also got two plots to kick off two new projects to be revealed soon. The first is a commercial project and the second is a residential project in West Cairo, these two projects represent a new start and a qualitative leap for the company after its re-structure and development of its strategy and goals in the local market. Gates Developments has also contracted with the most important and largest engineering design firms to design the project.