During a meeting chaired by Eng. Sherif El-Sherbiny, the Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, a mechanism to manage shops located in areas with low population density was approved. This step comes to enhance the delivery of various services to residents of new cities, boost attractiveness, and increase occupancy rates, Invest-Gate reports.

The Minister explained that the process is conducted in accordance with the following regulations: the offering of these shops is conducted through a usufruct system, announced via the official website of the city authority and the authority’s public notice boards. Applications are reviewed by the committee formed at the city authority, based on a resolution from the Authority’s Board of Directors in its session No. (128) of 2016. The applications are then presented to the subsidiary real estate committee for approval and subsequently presented to the main real estate committee for the approval of the usufruct license.

Furthermore, the Minister pointed out that in the event of multiple applications for a single shop, a public lottery will be held among the candidates at the city authority. The term for the usufruct will last for three years, after which it will be reviewed by the concerned authority to decide on future offering processes. A 30% discount on the monthly usufruct fee will be applied, with prices fixed by the main real estate committee for the duration of the three years, while ensuring compliance with other regulations specified in the terms and conditions document, once approved by the main real estate committee.