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Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris says he wants a role in Egypt’s push to bring private operators into airport management, telling a Cairo economic conference he is preparing to bid to run three hubs.
Sawiris said an Italian partner is interested in forming a consortium with one of his companies to compete for the management and operation of Hurghada International Airport, a major Red Sea gateway for tourism. He said he would also look at Luxor and Sohag airports if the government tenders them, arguing that stronger airport operations and tourism incentives could help Egypt lift visitor numbers.
The comments came as Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry advances a public-private partnership program targeting 11 airports. Officials have started with Hurghada, issuing a tender to select a private-sector partner to manage, operate and develop the airport. The government has said the airports will remain state-owned, with the winner taking on day-to-day management and upgrades under a long-term concession.
Sawiris framed the airport push as part of a broader shift in his plans at home, saying his next expansions in Egypt will lean toward tourism rather than new real estate launches. He said he intends to develop three hotels - one near the Giza Pyramids and two in Upper Egypt, in Minya and Sohag - while focusing his real estate arm on finishing projects already underway.
He also sketched ambitions beyond Egypt. Sawiris said he is seeking to buy land in the United Arab Emirates after what he called strong results from his first project there, adding that his investments could reach $15 billion. He said his group is also exploring expansion in Morocco, where it wants to apply an electrification model similar to its Egyptian effort to replace tuk-tuks with electric alternatives, but focused on swapping diesel motorcycles for electric ones.
At home, Sawiris returned to a familiar complaint: the cost of money. He criticized high interest rates, saying they weigh on developers and can make financing a large share of project costs, squeezing margins and slowing building plans.
Hurghada is widely seen as a test case for the airport program. The resort city’s terminal is among Egypt’s busiest and a critical conduit for European traffic to the Red Sea. How the tender is structured - and whether private management improves service, capacity and commercial revenue - will likely shape investor appetite for the next airports on the government’s list.
