Invest Gate concludes its roundtable activities in 2021 with “Going Commercial…The Future of Egypt’s Real Estate Market”, in cooperation with the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA), on December 8, and releases its recommendations.

The roundtable aims to analyze and study the current trends in industrial, logistic, and commercial real estate, especially after the booming demand on this product at NAC among other new cities.

The roundtable hosts a group of local and international experts in the real estate market, namely Fathallah Fawzi, head of the Construction Committee at the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA), Hisham Shoukry, chairman of Rooya for Real Estate Investment, Ashraf Ezz, managing director of Al Futtaim Group Real Estate, Sherif Hassan, CEO of Coldwell Banker Commercial Advantage, Sameh Attia, managing director of Oriental Industries Projects, Al-Moataz Bahaa El-Din, CEO of CPC Industrial Development, Hisham Moussa, managing director of Redcon for Offices and Commercial Centers (ROCC), Edris Mohamed, founder & CCO of Akam Development, Basheer Mostafa, CEO of First Group Developments, Mohamed Taher, chairman of Nile Developments, Bassel Shoirah, deputy general manager at Polaris International for Industrial Parks (PIIP), Nehad Adel, CEO of KVRD, and Ayman Sami, country head of JLL.

Following the deep and vital discussions, the participants conclude with the recommendations below:

Industrial Real Estate:

• Development in Egypt must be comprehensive and inclusive. Real estate development should take place in parallel with the industrial one to achieve fully- integrated urban development across all cities.
• The state has to provide developers with lands allocated for industrial activities especially in new cities. Inaugurating industrial areas must be prior to urban areas.
• For an Industrial sector development, lands designated for industrial activities with competitive prices along with attractive investment incentives must be provided.
• Industrial lands should be offered through various mechanisms, including usufruct as it is the best solution to combat land erosion
• Issuing licenses must be facilitated for the industrial investor.
• The state should cooperate with small industrial developers to solve their problems.
• The state should grant incentives to encourage investors to invest in the industrial sector.
• The state should focus on the industrial development to turn Egypt into a major center for industry in Africa, following its recent infrastructure development.
• Legislation must be updated to the benefit of industrial developers to achieve an integrated industrial and urban renaissance.
• There is a need to establish warehouses and industrial zones next to the new airports and ports.
• It is necessary to rely on technology and conduct more studies to accelerate the development of the industrial sector.

Administrative, Retail & Logistic Real Estate:

• Real estate investment funds must replace the developer of administrative, commercial, medical and educational products. This is the ideal solution to solve the shortage of supply.
• A clear vision for logistic services should be put into place to determine its real estate requirements for logistic and industrial real estate development.
• The state has to provide a clear direction to determine the specifications for administrative and commercial units and its requirements.
• Intensify research and development to attract international brands along with foreign investors by providing them with the necessary services.
• Establish feasibility studies firms, and acquire companies specialized in facility management for commercial units.
• Reevaluate the criteria, on which commercial units are offered.
• Implement commercial, administrative and logistic projects based on market needs.