Emaar Misr, the Egyptian arm of Dubai’s Emaar Properties, and Saudi Arabia’s Golden Coast have signed an agreement to develop part of Somabay on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, in a deal valued at 900 billion Egyptian pounds (about $18.5bn).
The announcement was first disclosed by Emaar Misr to the Egyptian Exchange on Sunday and later marked by a televised signing ceremony attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
Spanning some 2,426 feddans with a 1.5-km beachfront, the resort promises the usual trappings of Gulf-style opulence with 12 five-star hotels, marinas, lagoons, shopping boulevards and wellness centers. Its scale is vast enough to add 25,000 permanent jobs and, according to boosters, $200M a year in revenue. Rental yields of 10–11% and capital appreciation of up to 14% are being touted to investors, buoyed by a 64% surge in Egyptian property prices since 2022.
Ibrahim El-Missiri, chief executive of Abu Soma Development Company, which owns the land, told Al Manassa his company will not finance the scheme. “Instead, our role will be limited to providing land and technical advice, while the Emirati and Saudi partners fund and build the projects.” Six million square meters already under partial development will be expanded, alongside a further four million of unused land, he added.
Soma bay, located 45 kilometres south of Hurghada, is a self-contained peninsula resort known for its diving reefs, sandy beaches and upscale hotels. Developed since the 1990s by Abu Soma Development Company, it has grown into a mixed-use enclave of luxury resorts, golf courses and marinas.
The agreement underscores Egypt’s intensifying push to attract Gulf capital through coastal mega-projects. In February 2024 Cairo struck a $35 billion deal with Modon Holding PSC of the UAE to redevelop Ras El-Hekma on the Mediterranean coast, hailed as the country’s largest ever inflow of foreign direct investment. That project was formally launched in October, with Modon signing cooperation agreements with three Egyptian firms.
