RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is exploring investment opportunities in Egypt’s improving real estate landscape following the recent move of the African nation to remove restrictions on foreign ownership of land. The Kingdom’s Real Estate National Committee has met with the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association at the headquarters of the Federation of Saudi chambers in Riyadh to discuss potential real estate investments, Saudi Press Agency reported. During the meeting, the New Urban Communities Authority of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing presented to Saudi investors several investment opportunities in new Egyptian cities. “The Egyptian government is on track to implement more than 40 new cities, including the new administrative capital,” said Fathallah Fawzy, vice president of the Egyptian Business Owners Association, in a statement. The meeting also worked toward facilitating investors to obtain the land in no more than a month through the immediate allocation of land and the acceptance of cash and in-kind payments to meet the investment requests. There has also been a surge in government spending in the realty space. According to Abdel-Muttalib Mamdouh Emara, the vice president of the Urban Communities Authority, it has invested about 363 billion Egyptian pounds ($14.9 billion) in projects related to infrastructure, housing, services, agriculture and others. “Saudi business owners and real estate developers should consider taking advantage of these opportunities,” Emara stressed. Since coming to power, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has undertaken several mega infrastructure projects. It has led to a great urban renaissance, pointed out Hamad bin Hammoud Al-Hammad, head of the Saudi National Contractors Committee.