With the current Real Estate boom, with
local and international buyers on fire, its no wonder that SODIC and
Damac have made full use of this unsupplied need in the provision of
well planned and well-situated projects in Greater Cairo. Community
Times, talked with representatives from both companies, being model
examples in providing self-sufficient cities, where residents will
hardly ever need to commute to the old Cairo center again.
SODIC: Time For a Different View
In collaboration with Solidere
International, SODIC is investing EGP 25 billion in Eastown and
Westown, two new city centers that promise people “all the
amenities of downtown living without hassle and stress.” Eastown is
situated on Road 90, immediately adjacent to the American University
in Cairo’s new campus, in the midst of New Cairo and Kattameya.
Westown is situated off the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, within
close proximity to Smart Village, the new campus of the British
International School (BISC) and SODIC’s high-profile residential
development at Allegria. Both will have their first phases delivered
in 2011.
Mr. Youssef Hammad – SODIC’s Chief
Commercial Officer has
graduated with a BA in Political Science and Economics from the
American University in Cairo. He has worked at Procter & Gamble
for close to seven years in Marketing, covering businesses and brands
in Europe, Middle East & Africa. He was also the Commercial
Director of El Gouna Beverage Co. (an Orascom Company) and Marketing
Director of Orascom Hotels (Egypt). Head of Global Franchising
Operations, Orange (U.K.) and Managing Director of Inventa
Productions Ltd. (U.K.) as well as a Partner at Charollais Investment
Management Group (U.K.).
Which decision-making factors did
you consider when choosing the location of your city?
Historically SODIC
is based in the 6th of October, as Cairo was originally
growing on a north/ south line. Then in the 80’s the government
decided to grow out in an East/West direction. So we then decided to
acquire land adjacent to the American University in Cairo’s new
campus in Kattameya.
What are the steps of the process
that you followed to build your cities?
First, we did some research by
looking at Dubai, La Défense in Paris, Canary Wharf in London and
the regeneration of Beirut. We also realized that Eastown and
Westown need to have a central hub, like a downtown, because people
still need to go to downtown Cairo for their work and social life;
they still have an emotional attachment to it.
We then started with a very
detailed master plan for our city. This plan is based on having a
vision and knowing people’s current frustrations. For example, we
want to have a city where people can walk or cycle to work and have
a healthier life. Where they can have a High Street shopping
experience. For this, we worked with Solidere, a company that has a
lot of experience, as they have regenerated Beirut and completed
many other large-scale projects.
We then brought in our team of
architects and the construction company, bearing in mind the
environmentally friendly protocol that we wanted to follow. For
example, when it comes to landscaping, we want to use drought
resistant plants in order to save on water. We want to have proper
shading for our buildings that save on electricity for air
conditioning.
Then you start developing a
product. Then you start selling to key retailer experts, anchor
partners and trendsetters.
When building the city do you have
a certain target that you are going to be catering to or a pricing
strategy in mind?
Yes, you need to
have a business plan. In order to reach our prices, we looked at
competitive marketing prices, such as that of Nile City and Smart
Village and the forecasted increase.
Do you sell land as well? If so,
do you have certain regulations for building?
Yes we do sell some
land, but not much. Also if I sell land it will be for a certain
purpose, like for example a business complex in the business
district. It is important for us to have a certain cohesion theme.
Sometimes amenities do not usually
run so smoothly, are you going to keep them on watch?
Yes, we are hiring
a property management company to keep control of all amenities and
everything including the management of offices and making sure that
all shops adhere to certain hours for example.
Do you provide transport to the
center of Cairo?
We are still
seeking options for that, we might have buses, but the government is
also thinking of having a railway system to the cities, which is the
ideal situation.
Do you have plans for more cities
in the future?
Always.
Do you have special prices for
young people?
No, but unlike
other cities and compounds, we won’t just offer the extreme cases
of either very upscale villas or low scale apartments, but also small
scale apartments that are still of very high quality and in a great
location.
What is the biggest challenge you
face in building these cities?
Delivery. Finishing
these cities on time and with the desired quality.
How do you determine if a city is
successful?
By how vibrant it
is. Whether people just sleep there or do they work and shop and
socialize there. We expect to house about 2.5 to 3 million in each
city within the next 10 years. When Cairo was created, it was
supposed to house about five million people while it now houses 20
million, and that’s why it is completely bursting at the seams and
so we hope to create quite a sustainable escape valve.
What plans do you have for the
future of the cities?
Well, we are going
to keep growing and developing bit by bit. We aren’t going to
launch the cities and disappear. A great example in El Gouna and how
it started in the eighties and still developing till today but
turning into an incredible project.
Damac: Live the Luxury
Damac has three projects in Cairo: Park
Avenue, Rivoli and Hyde Park. Park Avenue, located in New Cairo is
the biggest retail destination in the Middle-East. Set within a
landscaped environment, it offers a residential area as well as a
public park in the center, courtyards, fountains, street-side cafes,
restaurants and sidewalks facing the park. Also at New Cairo is
Rivoli at Centre Ville: a cluster of six blocks, each comprised of
several luxury apartment buildings, 6-storeys high, and feature
opulent 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments. Hyde Park is spread across
4 million square meters, a single-home development with detached and
attached homes nestled with a 1 million square meter landscaped park,
the largest private park in Egypt.
Ziad
El Chaar joined DAMAC Properties in February 2005 as Vice President
International sales, and currently serves as General Manager
International. Ziad has been in Egypt for the past year, heading the
start-up operations of DAMAC Properties Egypt and the launching of
Park Avenue, New Cairo project and Gamsha Bay. He also manages
operations in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Which decision-making factors do
you consider when choosing a location for your city?
We chose to build
in New Cairo because there is land availability. The regulations in
that area are also more favorable for our kind of developments,
because most of our developments are luxury ones catering to A and B
classes. Also the zoning that we see done for an area like new Cairo
satisfies our demands, be it the low density of the buildings, the
wide streets, and the infrastructure provided by the Ministry of
Housing.. New Cairo also has advantages in terms of climate, as it is
higher than other areas in Cairo, which in terms of temperature gives
it four to five degrees advantage over Cairo. The same applies with
pollution, because it is not as dense, due to the regulations set
there which stipulates that you cannot build over more than 20% over
the total area of New Cairo. But this definitely makes it more costly
to build in that area.
The plot that we
chose in New Cairo had a central location to the total area, because
we intend on having a commercial as well as residential area. The
location is close to main developments such as the American
University in Cairo and the German University, other big cities and
the spine where you have all the hospitals.
What are the steps that you
followed to build your cities?
Since we are not building
developments, but mini cities, the first thing you have to do is
identify the elements to be developed on that plot, which will rely
a lot on marketing, because unique to Damac, we have local and
international marketing through our 52 offices worldwide. So we
know how to satisfy both local and international demands, as we
will also be bringing foreign investors into Egypt.
We then send a request for
proposals from architects, based on those elements and we select
our architects based on uniqueness and individualism, this is
followed by presenting the master plan to the public.
The master plan is then validated
after it meets all rules and regulations set by the company. The
plan is submitted to the Ministry of Housing and after a
ministerial decree is issued, you can start marketing the project.
This is followed by the next
stage, which is the design and the actual construction
Do you sell land as well?
No, we have no
intention of selling any land.
Does protecting the environment
play a part in planning out the city?
Such a location is
currently in the desert, so you would not have as much environmental
concern as when you are building next to the sea and you have to
protect the marine life. But we took care of the environmental aspect
by building a large green park, so we are providing more landscaped
areas, as it will be the largest private park ever built in New
Cairo. We have a drive in all our branches to use renewable energy.
For example, we will use reformed water for landscaping.
Will you provide transport to the
center of Cairo?
As we are in
central New Cairo, and New Cairo is developing on its own to be a
very vibrant city with three highways that will link you to the
Downtown of Cairo, we don’t see a necessity now, but definitely if
needed, we can provide it.
Do you have special
prices/packages for young couples?
We usually tackle
this point by selling a big array of sizes in our developments. In
our property in New Cairo, when it comes to the residential part, we
provide an apartment of 70m2 and a villa of 12000m2
and everything else in between. So this provides housing for people
who have small families and large families.
Are you going to provide a new
Downtown center with recreational services?
Of course. The key
to the success of any area is providing full services, which starts
from providing utilities to your house, roadways, a supermarket, the
butcher, a car shop, a pharmacy, a sports and recreational area. When
you provide all those in a development, then that development is
successful and the whole area is successful.
Why do you think Phase 1 of Park
Avenue sold out so quickly?
There is definitely
a lot of trust in Damac’s brand name, and people appreciated the
location, concept and project. They believed in the success of the
project.
Why do your properties mostly have
very western names?
It’s not in
relation to using an international or an Egyptian name, its just
choosing an aspiration name. For example we chose the name “Hyde
Park”, which is the most successful green park in Europe, because
we want to give people an idea of what kind of development we will
have. A large portion of the population would know about “Hyde
Park” in London. The same would apply to a more commercial
development such as “Park Avenue”. For the other project, we gave
a French name knowing Cairo’s attachment to French architecture.
What is the biggest challenge you
faced in building these cities?
Satisfying the
local demand. I think we definitely tackled this very successfully.
We also have a challenge in keeping up with construction and
inflation costs.
How do you determine if your city
is successful?
If its inhabited,
if everybody is living in the city and enjoying it. The city will
also be sustainable, maintenance wise, quality wise, technically. And
once you buy from Damac, we are committed to manage that development,
the property, and the city, for at least 15 years after completion,
to make sure the quality is being maintained and all the needs of the
people in this development are met.
What plans do you have for the
future of the cities after the 15 years are over?
The property is
handed over to the property owners union that will decide if they
would like to renew the maintenance contract with us..
