Table of Contents
Key Points
- Madinet Masr, led by tycoon Abdallah Sallam, negotiating three prime land plots in Riyadh for Saudi Arabia expansion.
- Cairo-based developer targets delivery of up to 2,000 housing units in 2024, with $620 million construction contracts planned for 2025.
- Madinet Masr expands Gulf real estate footprint through Cities of the World, with first Saudi investment opportunity to be announced soon.
Madinet Masr Housing and Development (MNHD), one of Egypt’s top real estate players, led by Egyptian tycoon Abdallah Sallam, is negotiating the acquisition of three prime land plots in Riyadh as part of its Saudi Arabia expansion push. The plots range between 300,000 and 500,000 square meters, Sallam said during a company roundtable on Sunday.
The move marks Madinet Masr’s first entry into the Kingdom and will be executed through its international arm, Cities of the World, with Wahij Real Estate as the local partner. Sallam noted that the company will announce its first Saudi investment opportunity soon, underscoring the developer’s ambitions to tap into the Gulf’s booming real estate market.
Domestic deliveries and $620 million construction pipeline
On the home front, Madinet Masr is targeting delivery of 1,500 to 2,000 housing units this year, with about 500 units already completed in the first half. The Cairo-based developer also plans to award EGP30 billion ($620 million) in construction contracts in 2025, a significant scale-up from the EGP2.9 billion ($60 million) already allocated.
To fuel growth, the company will channel EGP13 billion ($269 million) into project construction this year. It has also secured a EGP9 billion ($186 million) revolving securitisation facility, of which EGP 1.5–2 billion has been drawn down.
Madinet Masr’s expanding footprint in Egypt and beyond
Founded in 1959, Madinet Masr has become one of Egypt’s leading real estate developers, with a landbank of more than 9.5 million square meters and over 20,000 housing units sold. The developer has a reputation for large-scale urban planning, catering to Cairo’s fast-growing population and the country’s rising housing demand.
Under Sallam’s leadership, Madinet Masr has accelerated expansion through new ventures such as MINKA Development, which focuses on innovative housing solutions. The company also launched the $1.8 billion Talala project in New Heliopolis, designed to meet Egypt’s urban housing surge.
Internationally, Madinet Masr has widened its reach with Dubai-based Cities of the World, positioning itself to capture demand across the Gulf real estate market. The planned Saudi entry is seen as a milestone in transforming the company into a regional developer.
