Hassan Abdul Aziz, chairperson of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors, revealed that 2,000 real estate contracting companies exited the market in 2016—out of 30,900 companies operating in the Egyptian market—due to the price hikes of construction materials. During his speech at the third “Builders of Egypt” forum held on Tuesday, Abdul Aziz said that the delay in the issuance of the Price Differentials Law—called the Compensation Law—will lead to the exit of more companies during the coming period. The problem faced by the sector is similar to the crisis of 2003, which followed the liberalisation of the dollar exchange price and led to the exit of many companies, along with the imprisonment of owners of some companies. He emphasized that the state must focus on the local contracting companies, especially as the sector has succeeded in acquiring 99% of large and small national projects. The sector is also capable of expanding in the Arab countries and Africa.

Source: Daily News Egypt March 14, 2017 15:56 UTC