$900M down payments of ‘Beit Al-Watan’ project: Minister says

CAIRO – 25 May 2017: The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) sold 7780 land pieces allocated for “Beit Al-Watan” housing project over four phases with total payments reaching $2.8 billion, Minister of Housing Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday.

The NUCA has initially offered 11,600 land plots for the project and obtained down payments and installments worth $900 million, the minister added.

In addition, 3, 813 plots of lands worth $1 billion have been offered in the cities of New Cairo, Sheikh Zayed, New Damietta, Badr, New Aswan, Sadat, New Asyut, New Aswan, New Qena and Obour with overall down payments reaching $240 million.

The Minster, moreover, confirmed that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi gave directives to put the surplus coming out of the national housing projects, including the residential units and land plots, into the development of the slums.

“Beit Al-Watan” scheme is part of the government’s plan to bridge a gaping budget deficit and to attract much-needed foreign currency.

The government is eyeing a budget deficit of 10.1 percent by the end of the current fiscal year 2016/2017, down from 12.2 percent in 2015/2016.

The political turmoil in the past six years, since Egypt’s 2011 revolution, has widened the country’s budget deficit and drained its foreign currency reserves.

Egypt is committed to tightening its budget deficit as it presses ahead with an economic reform plan that aims at breathing life into the country’s ailing economy. Egypt sealed a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it approved the country’s reform program.