CAIRO: The 2015 edition of Egypt’s leading property event, Cityscape Egypt is now open to the public following an official ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Eng. Assem El Gazzar, CEO, General Organization for Physical Planning and Eng. Kamal Fahmy, Vice President for the Development of Cities, New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA).
The annual real estate exhibition opened its doors at the Cairo International Convention Centre at 2pm today, celebrating its largest ever edition with an impressive 15 per cent increase in stand space and more than 100 exhibitors present to greet the Governors.
Cityscape Egypt – Hassan Mohamed/YOUM7
The exhibition is set to attract more than 13,000 visitors over the next four days as the country’s leading real estate developers compete for the spotlight with various mega projects set to be announced.
The New Urban Communities Authority Vice Chairman Kamal Fahmystated that Cityscape Egypt is considered the biggest and most influential event for revitalizing the real estate sector in the country;
“Cityscape is characterized by its unique ability to initiate constructive discussion between stakeholders. This creates a comprehensive vision for the real estate industry, which drivesvarious economic sectors in terms of operational capacity, employment opportunities, and growth rates.“
Cityscape Egypt – Hassan Mohamed/YOUM7
Fahmyalso praised the exhibition in terms of its showcased projects, adding that he expected Cityscapeto instigate a quantum leap for the sector during the current year.”
Mr. Amr Mohsen, Egypt Residential Vice President of Coldwell Banker added to the discussion; “Coldwell Banker Egypt is currently witnessing the highest sales volumes so far this year. Investors continue to recognize the local real estate market as a secure, stable type of investment, and demand has increased significantly for units within compounds away from Cairo’s over populated city centre.
As for Cityscape, we are expecting the larger developers to be heavily promoting their facilities and payment terms, coupled with the launch of upcoming phases in New Cairo, 6th of October City and Sokhna” Mohsen exclaimed.
Cityscape Egypt – Hassan Mohamed/YOUM7
Some of Egypt’s most sought after property developments are being showcased at Cityscape Egypt this week including the many that are shortlisted for tonight’s prestigious Cityscape Awards for Real Estate in Egypt.
The glittering gala networking event will see the 2015 winners announced across seven categories, with contenders including BETA Egypt for Urban Development, SODIC, Emaar Misr, Orascom Hotels and Development, Emaar Misr for Development, Abo Soma Development Company, Maxim Investment Group, AlRabat Properties, The Ministry of social solidarity, Misr Italia, Porto Group Holding, Abo Soma Development Company and Rooya Group for Real Estate Investment.
Shortlisted projects include Beta Egypt’s Golf Residence Compound characterized by its distinctive architectural design and offering panoramic views of the stunning golf region; Misr Italia’s Cairo Business Park, a commercial and retail complex that boasts 40 buildings in nine unique designs, Rooya Group’s Telal Al-Alamein; a luxurious state-of-the-art residential complex with sea views and excellent access to surrounding areas, and Abo Soma Development Company’s Soma Bay – Masterplan Phase One, alsoknown as the ‘ultimate tourist resort in Egypt.
Cityscape Egypt – Hassan Mohamed/YOUM7
Developers are preparing to meet demand with a large number of units, and Mr. Khaled Bahig, CEO of New Homes, predicts that visitor demand will cover all housing brackets throughout the duration of the show;
“The real estate market in 2015 is witnessing a sales increase of 30to 40 per cent, in-turn attracting new developers to invest in Egypt such as Qatari Diar and a number of other large scale project launches.
This will result in a tremendous amount of traffic during cityscape 2015, with high demand for different unit types.Unlike the common perception that luxury housing is saturated, we expect increased demand across all sectors, especially the high-end.”
The high profile Cityscape platform is awash with news from exhibitors this week, with attractions includingthe launch of ‘Beta Greens’, a development by Beta Egypt offering modern apartments starting from 135 meters in Hadayek October;Arabia Group for Development’s highly publicized ‘City of the Sun’ project that will be on showcase for the first time ever as it awaits ministerial decree for approval of the detailed plan and WadiDegla’sannouncement to build 20,000 residential units as part of a brand new project covering 2.5 million square meters of land.
Wouter Molman, Director of Cityscape Group, commented: “Following a highly informative and influential Summit, double digit growth in floor space and an unmissable buzz on the show floor throughout the first day, we are confident that this will be our most successful edition ever in terms of exhibitor sales and also as regards visitors finding their preferred homes and investments.
We anticipate that the event will further strengthen current investor confidence and will act as a spring board toward reaching the 2020 unit supply goal that is being addressed by the government.”
Sponsors of the 2015 event include Gold Sponsor Taamir for Mortgage Finance Company Aloula, Associate Conference Sponsor Colliers International and Headline Awards Sponsor Lafarge Cement Egypt SAE.
Cityscape’s exhibitions, conferences and seminars are the leading events that bring together key industry decision makers, international investors, developers, government and investment authorities, leading architects, designers, and consultants active in the design and construction of real estate.