Chairman of the real estate council: stopping the sale of land in dollars restores balance to the Egyptian market

Commenting on the decision of the Ministry of housing, utilities and urban communities to stop the system of allocating land in dollars from abroad, Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, CEO and managing director of Tatweer Misr, and chairman of the Egyptian real estate council, said, “this decision is positive and consistent with the current period, as it will restore balance to the Egyptian real estate market, and also strengthen the strength of the Egyptian pound against foreign currencies.

Shalaby also explained that the decision will contribute to increasing the demand of Egyptian real estate companies and local investors for land and thus launching more real estate projects.

He also stressed that the state’s decision to allocate land in dollars came in an exceptional period and directly contributed to increasing the flow of foreign currency to the Egyptian market during the period of its application, but the continuation of the mechanism of selling land in dollars does not fully comply with the principle of equal opportunities between real estate companies

He pointed out that the market has witnessed many decisions in the past period that reflect that the state has a comprehensive vision with regard to strengthening the economic reform plan and supporting various sectors, as it deals very wisely with the requirements of each stage.

It is noteworthy that housing minister Assem El-Gazzar has stated that the dollar allocation system from abroad has been suspended starting from this June, until the situation is assessed and the various results of these proposals are reviewed and their compatibility with the policies pursued by the central bank, with regard to foreign exchange, excluding investors and non-Egyptian companies.

He also added that this decision also includes the suspension of work by giving priority to payment in dollars when applying for lands made available by the authority on its website.