Egypt’s Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told Al Manassa the government will take half of the proceeds from Qatari Diar’s North Coast deal, with most of the funds earmarked for debt reduction. “Our goal over the next few years is to cut the state’s domestic and external debt,” he said.
On Nov. 6, 2025, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly oversaw the signing of a landmark $29.7 billion investment agreement with Qatari Diar to develop a tourism and urban complex on Egypt’s North Coast. Under the terms of the deal, the government will receive $3.5 billion by year-end in exchange for the project land, completed residential units with projected returns of $1.8 billion, and 15% of the project’s net profits, according to an official statement.
Kouchouk said the agreement is a purely commercial transaction that underscores Arab investors’—especially Gulf states’—confidence in Egypt’s economy. He added that the deal will strengthen macroeconomic indicators, boost foreign investment inflows, and contribute to reducing the state’s debt burden.
Debt-service costs consumed most of Egypt’s budget revenues in fiscal 2024/2025, pushing the overall deficit to about 1.2 trillion Egyptian pounds (about $24 billion), up from 505 billion pounds the year before.
The minister said the government aims to deliver a step change by expanding investment and giving the private sector a larger role in leading development. He added that local and international private firms account for about 90% of the companies working on the Qatari Diar project, saying “private investment has returned to lead development in Egypt.”
A cabinet source told Al Manassa last week that final negotiations shifted the project’s land arrangement from a usufruct to an outright sale.
According to the cabinet statement, the development will feature residential compounds, tourism and entertainment facilities, artificial lagoons, golf courses, and an international marina alongside two local marinas. It will also include key infrastructure—such as power distribution stations, water desalination and treatment plants, hospitals, schools, universities, and government service buildings.
Qatar’s Minister of Municipality and Qatari Diar chair, Abdullah bin Hamad, described the project as a landmark regional investment expected to create around 250,000 jobs. Qatari Diar CEO Ali Mohamed Al-Ali said the more than 20-million-square-meter project, with over 4,500 hotel rooms, is designed to position Egypt’s North Coast as a premier Mediterranean destination, developed in coordination with the New Urban Communities Authority to meet international standards.
The signing comes seven months after a joint Egyptian–Qatari statement in April during President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to Doha, which referenced agreement to work towards a ceiling of $7.5 billion in direct Qatari investment in the coming phase, a figure that was increased in recent talks.
This is Egypt’s second-largest foreign deal after the $35 billion Ras El-Hekma project led by UAE-based Modon. Another recent marquee investment is Emaar Misr and City Stars’ Marassi Red Sea project at 900 billion Egyptian pounds ($18 billion).
