An all- year- round- retreat to many local and international visitors, La Hacienda Ras Sudr has been on the mark, attracting all attention to its unique location and natural beauty blended with modernity. Invest-Gate sits with Bahrawi Investment Co. CEO Dr. Samir Bahrawi to share his views on the investment climate in the country, today, and the future of Ras Sudr as Egypt’s, nowadays, popular destination on the rise. Invest-Gate, then, takes its readers on a tour at La Hacienda Ras Sudr with its very own Bahrawi Investment Co. General Manager Sarah Youssef to explore more on the booming destination and what it has to offer.

Here is what Bahrawi Investment Co. CEO Dr. Samir Bahrawi has to say:

How do you assess the current investment climate? And how do you view the real estate market?

Egypt is loaded with investment opportunities across all its cities and sectors. The only factors that affect such opportunities are the stability of its local currency and the regulations and legislations that follow. No one would want to invest in a country where laws are vague and its currency is unstable. When we study a project, we need to make sure that what is planned and agreed upon on paper is what will actually come into effect without any sudden changes or surprises. Yet, the investment opportunities in Egypt are unlimited.

Where real estate is concerned… when we look back throughout the past 25 years, if not more, we see that the purchase appetite of Egyptians is by default rising. Locals tend to invest their savings in real estate whether for themselves or their offspring. It has became part of our traditions and has been embedded in our nature.

We have witnessed an exaggerated appetite in the past five years but this phenomenon has come to an end, yet, the sector as a whole is steadily rising.

Why was Ras Sudr chosen as a location for the La Hacienda project?

Honestly speaking, I fell in love with Ras Sudr the minute I set foot in it. Ras Sudr is very unique with its seclusion, fantastic weather, and picturesque sand and sea. Sinai is full of places that cannot be put in words when describing them, like Ras Sudr. You have to visit it to get what I am talking about. All I can say is that Ras Sudr is a mesmerizing place that has to be highlighted.

Do you believe that with all the development of the Suez City and its SCZone, Ras Sudr would be on the property investment map of Egypt?

I can easily say that recently we have seen a number of young people escaping the hustle and bustle of the capital and moving to Ras Sudr. Moreover, Ras Sudr has become the perfect place for retirement; and this, as we have seen is a huge market not just in Egypt, but abroad. Retired Americans and Europeans are always on the lookout for homes that enjoy nature and seclusion. Ras Sudr fits their criteria. We await some laws that facilitate such international market to come own homes and live here in Ras Sudr. We also need a number of facilities that would make the lives of the retirees easier such as health care facilities and daily life necessities to make this an integrated and inhabitable city.

How do you foresee the future of such a location?

I find this location to be the most promising amongst all locations across Egypt in the very near future. With the plan to develop a city on the Egyptian borders with KSA and Jordan, Ras Sudr will be an international touristic hub as it lies on its main road. This city will also encompass an international airport, giving Ras Sudr an easy access. Ras Sudr as an area is primitive and virgin so development opportunities there are massive unlike all other places that are already established but are undergoing an upgrade phase. It has great potential with all the modern urban development plans for the city that are currently being studied.

In your opinion, what can the government do to attract investments to the many neglected areas or cities, especially in the Red Sea or Suez?

I find that the government initiates many investment incentives. However, those incentives are not what the investors want. I believe that the government has to listen more carefully to investors and see what they actually want; then create the appropriate incentives needed to invite their businesses to the country. There is a huge gap between those who form those incentives and laws, and the investors’ desires. It is not just tax reduction or land acquisition that matter; the government needs to scientifically study the investor’s market, views, and needs, then form the appropriate incentives and laws for the matter.

Join our La Hacienda Ras Sudr tour with Bahrawi Investments Co. General Manager Sarah Youssef

How does La Hacienda cater to its residents?

La Hacienda presents the “forbidden easiness” as they say. We provide all facilities and amenities needed for the everyday life by the sea. Our successful young clientele come to La Hacienda for the easy life, escaping the hustle and bustle of the city. We, at La Hacienda, want our residents to come unload their belongings and not worry about anything, but enjoy quality time with friends and family in a secluded and natural environment that mixes between a virgin nature and the modern day life. We are keen on adding luxury to make their stay enjoyable.

What are La Hacienda facilities, as you mentioned, that make this community a fully integrated one?

To develop an integrated community, you need to have a full infrastructural development along with the everyday services and amenities; and this is what we present at La Hacienda, making the project an –all- year- round destination. La Hacienda- many might not be aware of this- is a summer destination, too. Ras Sudr’s weather is enjoyable and breezy all year round. To upgrade the luxury of La Hacienda, aside from its rigorous maintenance services, this community enjoys a- 1km-long beach resort, seven swimming pools, a tennis court, kids area, a top-rated hotel, and a number of entertainment venues; in addition to the popular SOUL Kitesurfing Center.

Since its operation, we have seen a number of people residing in Ras Sudr especially the young people. They have moved their businesses to the area as well. Some even enjoy freelancing from there. This year, a school has opened in La Hacienda. Hana, the daughter of SOUL Kitesurfing Center’s Founder Sherif Soliman is our La Hacienda first student to attend this school. We have also created an event facility on the beach, this year, to accommodate large events and celebrations. We have seen growing demand since we have launched this project and accordingly, we introduce a new service each year to cater to this demand, adding to the La Hacienda life.

How much of the project is completed and delivered? And what are the project’s latest updates?

The first unit was delivered back in 1999; and ever since, we have been praised for keeping the resort up to world-class standards. We develop the resort each year to keep it up and running. Up until now, La Hacienda has delivered over 500 units. Throughout the past four or five years, we received high demand and therefore we have expanded the resort with many more units that are constantly built and delivered to keep up with this growing demand. At the moment, we have many plans in the works.

What does La Hacienda have in the pipeline?

We just launched a new phase, focusing on the originality of La Hacienda. We focus on La Hacienda’s natural beauty and implement it into our modern designs but with a twist. This new phase- if we can put it this way-is more young, vibrant, and modern. We have added a new swimmable lagoon, spanning 5,500 sq.m. of land. This phase overlooks this lagoon/swimming pool and enjoys more promenades and pedestrian walkways. The construction of this phase is underway and its first units will be delivered in 2019. We are currently extending our hotel to cater to the growing demand as I previously mentioned.

At this stage, La Hacienda Ras Sudr is growing and we have a lot of further expansions coming in the near future.