Egypt needs two years of stability before real investment interest gathers pace, says Abu-Bakr Makhlouf, commercial director at the Cairo-based Egyptian Resorts Company (ERC).

”There is usually a pile up of demand after periods of crisis. We saw this in 2014 after the industry was dead in 2013. Moving forward, from an investment point of view, we need to have at least two years of 50-per-cent-plus occupancy before fresh investment is seen in key areas across the Red Sea,” said Makhlouf speaking on the sidelines of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) being held in Dubai on 27 April.

ERC is the masterdeveloper of the Red Sea resort Sahl Hasheesh. The 32 million-square-metre development is situated 15 kilometres from Hurghada. Makhlouf says there are currently 4,000 hotel rooms under construction, which are expected to be delivered within three to four years.

The masterplan was developed by the California-based WATG and the feasibility study for the project was created by the US’ Aecom.

All land for phase one of the project has been sold to developers, with phase two approximately 50 per cent sold, according to Makhlouf.