Majid Al Futtaim has spent three decades building retail empires. Its first foray into residential real estate development — in Egypt, not the UAE — marks a strategic expansion that follows the purchasing power, not the geography of its existing business.
Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim and Egypt’s MIDAR Investment and Urban Development Company signed a strategic partnership agreement on 21 June 2026 to develop a USD 3.1 billion mixed-use urban project within Mada City in New Cairo, in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and UAE Ambassador Hamad Al Zaabi. Under the revenue-sharing agreement, Majid Al Futtaim will develop 2.3 square kilometres within Mada on a phased basis, with the first phase covering 840,000 square metres over four years. The first phase will include approximately 6,000 residential units alongside a business district, retail and hospitality components, and hotel units. The total project value could rise above USD 4 billion when fully built out, and MIDAR projects that the deal will generate future revenues exceeding EGP 40 billion for the master developer.
A Strategic Entry Into a New Asset Class
Majid Al Futtaim’s existing Egypt presence consists primarily of retail: the company operates several City Centre malls across Cairo and Alexandria, making it one of the most recognised UAE retail landlords in the Egyptian market. Its move into residential development is therefore a calculated extension into a sector where it has market credibility from existing tenant and consumer relationships but no prior development track record.
The revenue-sharing structure rather than an outright land purchase reflects the partnership dynamics of Mada City: MIDAR is the master developer and land owner, and Majid Al Futtaim is the co-developer of the residential and mixed-use pod.
New Cairo as the Address of Choice
The choice of New Cairo specifically reflects where Egyptian upper-middle-class and affluent residential demand has concentrated for the past decade. New Cairo has absorbed the majority of high-specification residential development in Greater Cairo, driven by infrastructure improvements, proximity to the New Administrative Capital, and distance from the density and congestion of traditional Cairo urban areas. Mada City occupies a strategic location within this zone, adjacent to major road networks connecting to the New Administrative Capital and to Cairo’s Ring Road.
Egypt’s residential market has proven resilient to currency devaluation cycles. Buyers seeking hard-asset protection from inflation historically convert savings into property, and GCC-branded development — with its association with higher construction quality and superior property management — commands premiums that local developers typically cannot match.
UAE-Egypt Investment at Scale
The signing at the level of prime minister and UAE ambassador signals that the Majid Al Futtaim-MIDAR deal is positioned as part of the broader UAE-Egypt bilateral investment relationship, which has grown substantially in recent years. The UAE has committed to multi-billion dollar investments in Egypt across energy, real estate, and infrastructure, partly to stabilise a strategically important neighbour and partly to access Egypt’s large, young consumer market. Majid Al Futtaim’s total Egypt investments will now top USD 2.8 billion following this deal.
