IGI Developments pumps EGP 1 billion into construction during 2023
By Eman Hamed
IGI Developments has completed eight residential projects over the last 30 years, with a total population of over 30 thousand people (approximately 6,000 families).This number is expected to be raised to 12,000 families by the time all units are delivered (a population of around 60 thousand).
IGI Developments owns a strong portfolio, as it is considered an extension of International Holding Company for Financial Investments and the Sheta Family, which started their business in 1942 and implemented a number of projects in the textile, food, industry, housing, petroleum, and construction sectors.
In the same regard, Reality Income Real Estate Company is considered the leading partner in Egypt for IGI Developments in implementing new projects. Income also comes from working as a mediator with the most specialised real estate companies in building infrastructure landscapes worldwide.
It is the only representative for the Chinese CSCEC company that implements projects in “the financial and business district” in the New Administrative Capital (NAC).
Ginza Company is also one of IGI Developments partners in the construction sector. It has a strong portfolio in building the headquarters of significant institutions, for example: Nile University, the new building of the 57357 hospital for children with cancer, the Microsoft building, the Egyptian Post in the smart village, the Cairo International Airport’s mall, in addition to a number of residential complexes in the west of Cairo.
IGI Developments delivered 1,000 units in 2022, despite all the challenges that faced the real estate sector. It is expected to double the number of delivered units in 2023.
Moustafa said that IGI Developments was very keen during this period to accelerate the average level of construction and development, as it is targeting pumping not less than EGP 1 billion into the construction of its projects to fulfil the delivery deadline with its customers.
IGI Developments is also cooperating with a number of other companies specialised in architecture, design, and construction, among them Ginza Real Estate Company, which has a strong portfolio in this field, and IBS Real Estate Co., a subsidiary company of Mobica specialising in integrated building systems, and is implementing some of the construction work related to some phases in “Ashgar City,” along with “LMS” Company, a subsidiary company of Landmark Sabbour Development (LMD), which is currently implementing the construction work in “Jada” phase of Ashgar City and Ashgar Heights, and GDG Property Group is implementing the infrastructure of “Jada” phase of Ashgar City and Ashgar Heights, meanwhile, under the supervision of “LMD”
Masar Alestethmar Real Estate Company is assigned to all landscapes of IGI Developments projects.
IGI Developments is also cooperating with significant companies in engineering consultancy, design, and project management, among them Pinnacle-TBH, OKOPLAN, EHAF, and Al Amaar Group, while EMDAD and Distance are responsible for designing the landscapes of non-residential projects.
IGI Developments managing director stressed on the distinguished locations that the company chooses for its projects as it adopts a future perception based on a case study, referring to all the projects being located near transportation networks and vital services in West Cairo, for example, the monorail project and the Light Rail Transit (LRT), which increase the investment value and accelerate the project’s occupancy.
He added that the strategic location of “Ashgar City,” which is next to El Wahat Road, the Ring Road, El Fayoum Road, and Dahshour Road, It spanned over 148 thousand feddans, while the unit areas ranged between 85 and 170 metres square. Each unit consisted of two to three rooms, and prices started at EGP one and a half million with eight-year installments.
Meanwhile, Ashgar Heights compound offered villas with different areas; most of them are sold out, and the area of the few remaining ones is 300 metres square with incomparable prices starting from EGP seven million and installments up to seven years.
He noted that IGI Developments had recently launched a new phase in “Ashgar Heights” of unit areas starting from 50 square metres for studios and areas ranging between 80 and 200 square metres for apartments of three rooms, with installments up to eight years.
The high demand for Ashgar City is due to its good reputation and the city’s continuous development. Ashgar City’s latest phase, “Jada,” gained unprecedented turnout last year.
The unit areas in the “Jada” phase range from 140 to 200 metres square, with prices starting at two and a half millions and installments up to 8.5 years. Some units were delivered in the “Jada” phase, while the remaining are scheduled to be delivered between one and two years from now.
IGI Developments managing director said that despite the economic challenges, the sales number the company achieved in 2022 was four times higher than that achieved in 2021. He added that IGI is expected to achieve sales that are three times higher than what they were in 2022.
He pointed out that IGI Developments owns lands of 350,000 metres square allocated for non-residential projects, as the launch of four commercial and administrative projects will be announced in the heart of the 6th of October City, in addition to a school built on 15,000 metres square and a multipurpose project of 50,000 metres square on El Wahat Road with an investment value of EGP one billion.
This is in addition to another commercial project located on Waslet Dahshour Road off Al Wahat Road, with a total investment of EGP 2.5 billion.
IGI Developments Managing Director Sherif Moustafa said that 25 percent of the company’s sales in the new launched projects and phases were sold to previous customers or new customers who chose the company based on the good recommendations of the previous customers that resulted from their trust in the quality of the company’s products.
IGI Developments announced its future plan that is targeting the implementation of an integrated real estate project to be built on 540 feddans in New Sphinx City, which is just a few minutes away from Sphinx Airport.
Moustafa added that the company is currently setting its plan for the project, and it will assign consultants in the field of green architecture and sustainable building to implement the project according to the highest standards.
The plan includes energy savings and sustainable lighting with low energy consumption generated by solar energy. It also includes using building materials in an effective way to reduce the harmful effect of carbon dioxide emissions on the environment.
The plan also includes studying the prospects of building a water treatment and recycling plant to water green areas, using irrigation systems to regulate water consumption, and reusing rainwater in irrigation too. It also considered the reuse of agriculture waste to save the environmental balance, in addition to planting plants that could withstand severe drought to regulate water consumption in irrigation.
He added that the challenges that the real estate sector has faced since the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, the global economic challenges starting from inflation and low supply, and then the Russian invasion of Ukraine have contributed to showing the serious real estate developers who were able to overcome these obstacles because of their significant experiences.
Moustafa stressed that IGI Developments was among these real estate developers that could achieve a leap in sales during the economic challenges.
He added that the real estate companies are currently facing big challenges after the devaluation of the national currency by around 40 percent plus the increase of implementation prices that is meeting low demand, noting that the real estate developer is funding the unit prices as the prolonged installments could be divided over 12 years, which increases the risk levels and financial burdens on the developer due to the low financial flows.
He noted that the best solution to support the real estate market in the meantime is a reconsideration of interest rates and an extension of the funding period for the under-construction projects.
IGI Developments managing director stressed that despite all of the above-mentioned challenges, real estate investments remain the safest and most attractive investment in Egypt, noting that the currency devaluation is considered a positive side to boosting the exporting real estate market, especially when considering the projects that had implemented 85 percent of their construction work as finished projects, which eases the real estate registration process.
He elaborated that the Egyptian cabinet offered solutions to the real estate developers to face the current economic impasse, as it extended the duration of the real estate projects by 20 percent of the already set duration and delayed the installments that should be paid by the developer by 20 percent.
The cabinet also considered the project finished when the real estate developer finished 85 percent of its construction work, meanwhile reducing the additional interest rate imposed by the Ministry of Finance from two percent to one percent.