Egypt and Qatar launch $29.7 billion Mediterranean coastal real-estate project

The governments of Egypt and Qatar have signed a partnership agreement to develop a luxury real-estate and tourism megaproject on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, including a $3.5 billion land payment in December and a total $29.7 billion planned investment by Qatar’s sovereign real-estate arm, Qatari Diar. 

The project, designated as “Alam Al‑Roum,” is located about 480 kilometers northwest of Cairo in Egypt’s Matrouh Governorate. The development covers approximately 1,985 hectares and a 7-km stretch of coastal frontage. 

Under the agreement, Qatar will contribute the $3.5 billion upfront for the land allocation to Egypt, which is intended as fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) rather than a deposit, and the remaining funds of the total investment package will be deployed through the development of infrastructure, residential, tourism, and leisure assets. 

Egypt, meanwhile, will receive housing units equivalent in value to $1.8 billion and will retain a 15 % share of the project’s profits once the investment cost is recovered by Qatari Diar. 

The investment comes amid Egypt’s concerted efforts to attract Gulf capital to bolster its foreign-exchange reserves, reduce public debt, and underpin its macroeconomic reform program. The Egyptian finance minister indicated that the FDI will be used to reinforce Egypt’s economic indicators and debt profile. 

The project aligns with a broader pattern of Gulf sovereign-wealth investment into Egypt’s coastal and tourism infrastructure. The UAE’s earlier $35 billion deal for a development at Ras El Hekma on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast is cited as a precedent. 

From an infrastructure and civil-engineering perspective, the scale of this venture implies extensive work in land development, coastal civil works, marina and waterfront construction, hospitality and residential construction, utilities and transport systems, high-end resort design, and master-planned community deployment over a large coastal footprint. The project will likely involve site reclamation (if needed), marine engineering for breakwaters or marinas, large-scale earthworks, structural systems for hotels and residences, and integrated engineering for roads, water supply, sewage, and power across the development zone.

Egyptian officials indicated that the project is at the binding agreement stage, with the land payment to occur in December and phase-one activities expected to follow. The agreement was formalized during a signing ceremony held at Egypt’s New Administrative Capital.