President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Tuesday, 20 October, urged businessman Hisham Talaat Moustafa to help provide between 100,000 and 200,000 rental apartments, saying developers undertaking projects of such scale should also contribute to society.
The exchange took place during a session on urban development at the Egypt Forum 2026, shortly after the government announced an agreement with Moustafa’s company, Talaat Moustafa Group. Under the deal, the company will develop, build and operate four large mixed-use projects with a stated total investment of EGP 11 trillion (USD 201 billion).
“Where is the social service?” el-Sisi asked, arguing that major investments should come with a clear commitment to serving the public.
Moustafa responded, “At your command, sir,” and cited the private sector’s contributions to social initiatives, including the Haya Karima (Decent Life) initiative and the Long Live Egypt Fund.
“This is one thing and that is another,” el-Sisi said, noting that the request was separate from those programs.
To illustrate the scale of his proposal, el-Sisi said that 1 percent of the announced investment would amount to EGP 100 billion (USD 1.8 billion). He said major development projects should benefit society as well as investors and called on other businesspeople to contribute to meeting citizens’ needs.
The four projects include a development north of Madinaty, an 11.3-million-square-meter project in Alexandria, an integrated industrial, logistics and real estate development in the Abu Qir area, and a coastal destination on the North Coast modeled on the company’s South Med project.
