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Egyptian developer SODIC has temporarily suspended its yet-to-be-named 500-acre residential project planned in Sheikh Zayed city due to the alignment of the high-speed railway project.
The EGX-listed developer’s managing director Magued Sherif told Zawya Projects that the alignment of the high-speed railway impacted the company’s land acquisition plans for the residential project.
In September 2021, Egypt had signed a $4.45 billion deal for a high-speed electric rail line to link its Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts, connecting the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna and the Mediterranean ports of Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh.
Sherif didn’t elaborate but said the developer will move the 500-acre project to a new plot in the 6th of October City.
In its press statement announcing first quarter 2022 results, SODIC attributed 80 percent of the gross contracted sales cancellations for the first quarter totalling 388 million Egyptian pounds ($21 million) to the suspension of the 500-acre project.
The SODIC official disclosed that the company is preparing a five-year plan with Aldar, which will study a new mixed-use project in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) and projects in other parts of Egypt.
In December last year, the Abu Dhabi-based consortium of Aldar and ADQ had completed the acquisition of majority stake in SODIC.
Highest quarter record
The first quarter 2022 results also saw SODIC setting a new record for gross contracted sales during any first quarter in terms of both number and value of units sold as gross sales grew 102 percent year-on-year to 3.74 billion pounds ($202 million) representing 573 units sold across all projects.
Net profit after tax and non-controlling interests came in at 226 million pounds ($12 million), growing 125 percent YoY from 100 million pounds ($5.4 million) in the year-ago period.
The company delivered 165 units in the first quarter, of which 42 were in West Cairo projects, while East Cairo and North Coast projects accounted for 116 and 7 of the delivered units, respectively, the statement said. This compares to 120 units delivered across all projects during the first quarter of 2021.
CAPEX spent on construction during the quarter amounted to 634 million pounds ($34 million), compared to 776 million pounds ($42 million) spent during the first quarter of 2021.
(1 US Dollar = 18.56 Egyptian Pounds)
(Reporting by Marwa Abo Almajd; Editing by Anoop Menon)
