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Coastal destinations are a boon to Egyptian construction

9 February 2026

 

Egypt’s construction industry is poised for significant growth on the back of two large-scale schemes worth a combined $50bn that were announced last year.

The key projects set to drive future growth are the $29.7bn North Coast development by Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and the $19bn Red Sea Marassi project on Egypt’s Hurghada coast, being developed by Emaar Misr and City Stars.

These large-scale, multi-phased schemes are expected to provide further impetus to a market that in 2024 also saw the launch of the $24bn Ras El-Hekma project, a 170-million-square-metre (sq m) development announced by Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ.

Market performance

The projects are a much-needed boon in an otherwise declining market. In 2025, contract awards in Egypt’s construction and infrastructure sectors fell by 35% year-on-year, with total awards amounting to just $10bn.

The decline marked a deepening slowdown following a boom in 2022, when construction and transport contract awards reached a record $23bn, before sliding to $15.6bn in 2023, according to MEED Projects.

The prolonged contraction in project activity has reshaped contractor behaviour. Faced with a thinning domestic pipeline, Egyptian firms have increasingly looked beyond their home market, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the clear beneficiary.

Since the start of 2022, Egyptian contractors have secured more than $40bn in work in Saudi Arabia, underscoring their growing role in the kingdom’s expansive projects market. Leading players include Orascom Construction, Petrojet, Enppi, Elsewedy and Hassan Allam Construction.

Future prospects

With a pipeline of more than $110bn-worth of construction and infrastructure projects, Egypt offers potential that could entice contractors to return in the medium to long term.

The most advanced of these schemes is the Ras El-Hekma project. The development involves constructing a new state-of-the-art city on the Ras El-Hekma peninsula, west of Alexandria, between Marsa Matrouh and the city of New Alamein.

The project’s scope includes residential districts, hotels, resorts, entertainment venues and service facilities such as hospitals, schools and universities. Plans also feature administrative buildings, an economic free zone for the information technology sector, logistics hubs, a business district and a marina.

Activity has stepped up recently. In January, Modon tendered several contracts for the first phase of development at Ras El-Hekma. These cover construction work across five packages that are expected to cost several billion Egyptian pounds.

Modon Holding also awarded a $316m contract in January for one of the packages to the local firm Orascom Construction.

With an initial investment of $24bn, the Ras El-Hekma project represents a significant financial infusion into Egypt’s struggling economy. The development is expected to provide an immediate stimulus to the construction industry and related sectors, with Egyptian contractors and real estate developers set to play key roles in the project’s development and operation.

The other large-scale scheme expected to make progress is the Red Sea Marassi project. Design work for the project’s initial phase is complete, and tendering for the main construction works is expected to begin shortly.

The development spans more than 10 square kilometres (sq km) and is located near Hurghada International airport. It features a 1.5-kilometre beachfront, 400 metres of sea docks, 12 hotels and more than 500 retail facilities.

The Qatar-backed North Coast development, meanwhile, is expected to enter the market in the near future. The development, featuring residential assets, hotels, schools, universities and leisure facilities, will span an area of about 20 sq km in the Alamein Al-Roum area.

Transport pipeline

The most immediate transport infrastructure project anticipated to move ahead is the addition of a fourth terminal at Cairo International airport. Egypt completed the project’s financial and technical studies last year. Upon completion, the new terminal is expected to increase the airport’s capacity to 60 million passengers a year.

Beyond aviation, the transport pipeline is dominated by plans to expand Egypt’s railway and urban transit networks. According to the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), eight major schemes covering metro, high-speed rail and light rail transit (LRT) are currently at the study stage.

The first of these is the extension of Cairo Metro Line 1 from El-Marg North to Shubra El-Kheima. The scheme will span about 19km and include 14 stations.

Another major proposal is Cairo Metro Line 6, a 34km-long line running parallel to Line 1. The route will run north-south through Greater Cairo, linking Shubra El-Kheima and New Maadi, and terminating at the start of Ain El-Sokhna Road at Al-Khosos.

Plans are also in place for Line 4 of the high-speed rail network, which will extend from Port Said to Abu Qir in Alexandria. In parallel, NAT is studying further phases of Cairo Metro Line 4.

Additional projects under consideration include phase five of the LRT system linking Cairo with the New Administrative Capital and 10 Ramadan City, and phase five of Cairo Metro Line 3.

The pipeline also includes the rehabilitation and maintenance of Cairo Metro Line 2, as well as a proposed line extending from the end of the second phase of Cairo Metro Line 4 at Al-Rehab to Cairo International airport.

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Yasir Iqbal

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