As part of Egypt keenness to promote sustainable urban development and national economic growth, the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, represented by the New Urban Communities Authority, signed a number of protocols with QNB Egypt and a group of prominent banks operating in the Egyptian market, in order to activate the free real estate financing system for residential, administrative and commercial units owned by the Urban Communities Authority.
QNB Egypt ranks first among private banks in terms of real estate finance portfolio, with a mortgage portfolio of nearly EGP 11 billion with a customer base of 40,000 customers.
Eng. Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, stressed that these protocols come within the Ministry's vision to expand the scope of cooperation between the state and the banking sector, in order to achieve integration in supporting the state's efforts to enable citizens to own property, stimulate the real estate market, and attract local and foreign investments that contribute to enhancing the state's resources and advancing the economy.
The Minister explained that this step represents a qualitative leap in real estate financing tools in the Egyptian market, as it aims to provide flexible and sustainable financing solutions with repayment periods of up to 20 years, and with facilitated contracting advances commensurate with the capabilities of various income segments, while maintaining the balance between the economic and social dimensions, and opening new horizons for Egyptians working abroad and Arab and foreign investors to participate in the Egyptian real estate market within the Egyptian Real Estate Export Initiative.
Eng. Sherif El-Sherbiny added that the cooperation with these major banking institutions reflects confidence in the strength of the Authority's real estate projects and their legal and administrative stability and allows banks to direct financing towards ready-made and full-facility units in new cities, ensuring speed of implementation, reducing traditional procedures, and enabling citizens to own immediate units without waiting for the construction or handover stages.
He pointed out that the cooperation system includes three main axes, including financing the purchase of ready-made units that are not covered by the Central Bank's initiatives, facilitating rescheduling for previously contracted customers, and financing the resale of units delivered by the Authority, with flexible payment periods and under the direct supervision of the concerned agencies to ensure the speed and safety of implementation.