Arabtec Profit On Egypt Project Won’t Exceed 7.5%

Dubai-listed construction firm Arabtec will have a profit margin not exceeding 7.5 per cent for its project to build homes in Egypt, a company spokesman said on Saturday.

He also told Reuters that within six months of work on the huge project starting, Arabtec would transfer $180 million to its wholly owned subsidiary Arabtec Egypt Real Estate Development, which was set up for the scheme.

The money would help fund the project, although Arabtec is also expected to raise debt to fund it.

The company announced last week that it had agreed terms with Egypt’s Ministry of Housing for the first phase of a 280 billion Egyptian pound ($36.7 billion) plan to construct one million homes across the country, and would sign a contract with the ministry “at the earliest opportunity” for the first phase, which would involve 100,000 housing units.

A statement from Egyptian Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouli on Saturday confirmed the 7.5 per cent figure for Arabtec’s maximum profit margin, saying that was a level specified by Egyptian regulations for such projects.

The Arabtec spokesman said on Saturday that the start date for the project had yet to be confirmed because Arabtec hadn’t yet signed the contract.