Egypt's Midar Investment and Urban Development Company and Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim signed a strategic partnership agreement on Sunday to develop a large mixed-use urban project in New Cairo's Mada City.
The project has a total development value exceeding $3.1 billion that could rise above $4 billion when fully built out.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed the signing at the new administrative capital, alongside Housing Minister Randa El Manshawy, Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Saleh, and UAE ambassador Hamad Al Zaabi.
Under the agreement, Majid Al Futtaim will develop a 2.3 square kilometre integrated community within Mada on a revenue-sharing basis.
The first phase covers 840,000 square metres over four years and includes about 6,000 residential units, a business district, retail and hospitality components, and hotel units.
The second phase will add a further 1.26 square kilometres, with about 252,000 square metres earmarked for a shopping and entertainment destination to be allocated progressively as the surrounding residential areas reach occupancy thresholds.
Midar, which serves as master developer of both Mada and Mostakbal City in New Cairo, says the deal will generate future revenues exceeding 40 billion Egyptian pounds.
Majid Al Futtaim chief executive Ahmed Ismail said the partnership marked the company's "first integration of regional expertise in developing integrated mixed-use residential communities" within Mada.
He noted the company had invested about $2.8 billion in Egypt over 27 years, during which it created more than 226,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Majid Al Futtaim's Egyptian portfolio includes Mall of Egypt, City Centre Almaza, City Centre Alexandria, City Centre Maadi, in addition to more than 100 Carrefour supermarkets and Supeco discount stores.
Sunday's deal is the latest instalment in a deepening pattern of Gulf investment in Egypt that has reshaped the country's financing picture over the past three years.
The single most consequential transaction came in February 2024, when Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ signed a $35 billion agreement to develop the Ras El Hekma coastal zone on Egypt's north-western Mediterranean shore, the largest foreign investment in Egypt's history.
According to state estimates, by the end of the year, Gulf states will have invested between $30 billion and $41 billion in Egypt’s real estate sector. Since 2022, total investment flows into Egypt from the Gulf and other foreign sources have exceeded $102 billion.
The flows have not been limited to the UAE.
Saudi Arabia has accumulated about $25 billion in Egyptian assets, with Riyadh converting $10 billion in central bank deposits into direct investments and pledging a further $5 billion focused on energy and real estate.
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, QIA, has also committed to a $29.7 billion North Coast tourism development and signed a $7.5 billion investment package with Cairo.
