Arabtec close to completing plan for $40bn Egypt housing scheme
Dubai based contractor denies reports that it is no longer committed to the project
Arabtec is close to completing the planning and design stage of its $40 billion deal to build a million homes in Egypt, the company announced on Sunday.
According to Reuters, Arabtec originally announced in March that it had agreed with the Egyptian army to build the homes at 13 locations around the country on land provided free by the armed forces. Construction was to start in Q3 of this year, with the first homes to be delivered in early 2017 and the whole project to be completed before 2020.
Since the announcement, however, the company has released few concrete details of the scheme, and said it was reviewing its business after the sudden resignation of chief executive Hasan Ismaik in June.
In a brief statement to the Dubai stock exchange on Sunday, Arabtec denied a recent media report suggesting it was no longer as committed to the project in Egypt.
“The Company will commence the project immediately after the finalisation of the planning and design stages which have been nearly completed after achieving significant progress in this regard,” the statement said, adding that Arabtec had “made positive progress and results in its discussions with the concerned authorities in Egypt in order to commence the project as soon as possible.”
