Egyptian developers halt Saudi housing project amid political tensions

Egyptian real estate developers have suspended housing deals with the Saudi government amid political tensions between both countries, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Four Egyptian developers - Al Ahly for Real Estate Development, Talaat Mostafa Group (TMG), Misr Italia, and Orbit Group – signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Saudi housing ministry last year to build residential units in the kingdom.

"We suspended the agreement with the Saudi Housing Ministry despite all project studies being concluded because of worries over tensions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia," said Al Ahly chairman Hussein Sabour.

Misr Italia deputy chairman Mohamed al-Assal said his company has no contact with Saudi Arabia over the project.

"The agreement was cancelled due to a lack of cooperation from the Saudi side and a breakdown in communications between both sides since last June," he said.

Orbit Group said the deal with Saudi Arabia was suspended but declined to provide details.

Signs of political disagreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia became apparent after state-run Saudi Aramco halted shipments of oil products to Egypt in October without providing a reason, according to earlier news reports.

Last month, an Egyptian court rejected a government appeal to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, a verdict that deepened tensions between two of the Arab World’s largest economies.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi has previously said the islands of Tiran and Sanafir always belonged to the kingdom, and were merely under Egyptian administration for a short period of time. His comments stirred nationwide controversy among Egyptians, who accused him of selling Egyptian land to Saudi Arabia.