Côte d’Ivoire has faced a shortage of cement since early 2015, as a result of rapid growth in construction activity when large-scale investment returned to the country after 2011. Demand for cement – and therefore its pricing – is also highly seasonal, leading to particular supply pressures between January and May, the dry season when most...
In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of humanity was living in urban areas. Perhaps the most remarkable observation is the speed at which this happened: as recently as 1900, urban areas accounted for 13% of the global population. Towns and cities are seen as the crucibles of opportunity for many rural dwellers. The UN...
The construction sector in Egypt is experiencing the best of times and the worst of times. On the one hand, the government has placed the sector at the heart of its economic agenda, ensuring that there will be plenty of contracts available in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, efforts to reform the economy through the removal of fuel...
The Egyptian real estate market has proven itself remarkably resilient to the political and economic tensions the country has experienced over the 2011-17 period. However, while real estate has historically been seen as a safe bet in uncertain times, economic headwinds, especially strong in late 2016 and the first half of 2017, stoked by...
As Egypt is poised for rapid construction growth, the cement industry will become increasingly important as the bedrock of the sector. While the industry has plenty of capacity, it remains vulnerable to energy availability and pricing. As the last year has shown, a spike in fuel prices can hit the cement industry, and thus the whole...
While Egypt’s formal real estate market has become a crucial and high-performing segment of the economy, it has struggled to tackle the challenge of affordable housing. Egypt suffers from a chronic housing deficit of up to 3m homes, with annual demand for new homes reaching as high as 500,000 units. Previous administrations have sought to...
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