LIVING "By the Real Estate Leaders" Summer 2016- Issue # 9 | Page 11

How vital will the new ‘Fouka’ road be
for travellers to the North Coast?
The new road will shorten the distance to the North
Coast and Marsa Matrouh by 100 km, making the
distance 140 km instead of 240 km to the former and 320
km instead of 420 km to the latter. Moreover the new
route starts from within the confines of the 6th of
October city at the Juhayna Square and so travellers will
not have to pass through the Alexandria desert road.

There seems to be a general trend of
vacationers moving more towards the
west of the North Coast to areas like
Sidi Abdel Rahman. What do you think
the reason for that is?
For the past six years Sahel regulars have been moving
further away to the west from the once popular Marina
Resort which for decades had been the “it” place for the
rich and famous. Now with the rise of mega developers
and their super luxurious, not to mention trendier
projects that have made Sidi Abdel Rahman their new
home, more and more people are taking their lead.
The allure of this new destination is easily understandable as hundreds flock in an attempt to gain access to the
highly popular yet very exclusive projects such as
Marassi and Hacienda Bay created by Emaar and Palm
Hills respectively. With some developments hosting the
best of Cairo’s restaurants and bars while others organize
beach time activities by morning and parties by night,
the competition for vacationers’ attention is becoming
very stiff.

What is the appeal of Sidi Abdel
Rahman versus the original Sahel?
The calm, clear waters and pristine sand are a common
factor across all projects regardless of its size or price as
well as the fact that it still remains less crowded, which
also increases its appeal. Moreover developers have
become more customer savvy tempting new summer
home shoppers with better facilities and services all
within the same place, something that was not very
common within the older summer resorts of the past.

Are summer homes in Sidi Abdel
Rahman affordable?
As Sidi Abdel Rahman slowly becomes the new synonym
for Sahel, potential summer homeowners are very keen
to jump on the bandwagon. And while it can seem intimidating at first to start the search for a new property,
which doesn’t break the bank, there are actually quite a
variety of prices and payment plans offered by middlesized developers. It does require plenty of shopping
around to compare projects and payment plans.

Is there some way to make buying a
summer home easier?

ment and a lot of research, which is why finding the right agent can be
very useful. And because RE/MAX agents are professionally trained they
can help clients make smarter and faster decisions with less hassle in the
searching process and most importantly eliminate any projects with a
suspicious status due to the lack of legal permits, which is common in
North Coast projects.

How do you see the future of Sidi Abdel Rahman
in terms of becoming a major tourist destination?
The government has been working hard at creating points of attraction
to the area to increase the number of visitors per year as well as lure
foreign tourism. That is why it has stipulated that
each new resort should avail a hotel to serve
those who do not own homes. It has also
announced future plans to maximize traffic
in the area throughout the whole year
instead of only during the summer. With
plans of such massive development scale,
there has been talk of a new airport in the
not so distant future.

So is it safe to say that
the future of Sahel is
heading west?
For now Sidi Abdel Rahman remains
the most sought after destination on
the Mediterranean but with the
Marsa Matrouh commercial port in
development which will attract even
more investments due to its proximity to Europe, new projects have
started to edge closer and closer to
Marsa Matrouh, making the future of
Sahel forever sailing west.
What may have started off as a subtle
migration by those who sought to
escape the over crowdedness of the
original Sahel has now transformed
into a full on general trend as the
allure of virgin beaches, newer
developments, better entertainment
and shorter roads continue to fuel the
desire for the west side of Sahel.

Buying any kind of new home requires a sizable invest-

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