Ora Developments 01 November 2026 Last Updated At (28 Properties) (8 Projects)

ORA Developers Egypt: Naguib Sawiris Projects & Prices 2026

ORA Developers is the property company founded by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, who serves as its chairman and chief executive. The company took the ORA name in 2016, having previously operated as Gemini Global Development, and today works across Egypt, the UAE, Cyprus, Pakistan, Iraq, Grenada and Greece on a land bank reported at more than 76 million square metres.

In Egypt the portfolio runs to six destinations: ZED Sheikh Zayed, ZED East, Solana New Zayed, Solana East, Silversands on the North Coast, and Pyramid Hills in West Cairo.

This guide covers the company and its leadership, each Egyptian project with its confirmed area and unit count, the density figures that show what kind of product each one actually is, the one project with completed phases you can inspect today, and what to establish before committing.

For current prices, available units and payment plans across ORA’s projects, call 01003366453.

About ORA Developers

ORA Developers develops premium residential and coastal projects, with Egyptian operations concentrated in Sheikh Zayed, New Zayed, New Cairo, West Giza and the North Coast. The stated approach is building integrated communities that combine residential units with commercial districts, sports facilities and hospitality.

The leadership sits as follows. Naguib Sawiris is founder, chairman and group chief executive. Wafaa Latif is group vice chairman. Khaled Morgan is head of development, responsible for planning, design and the execution of international projects.

The 2016 date, and what it actually means

The founding year quoted in most Egyptian property coverage is 2016. That is the year of the rebrand rather than the beginning: the company operated as Gemini Global Development beforehand, so the corporate history runs longer than the ORA name does.

That distinction matters because the usual question raised about ORA is whether ten years is enough of a record next to SODIC, founded in 1996, or La Vista, founded in 1991.

The more useful measure for an off-plan buyer is not how long a company has carried its current name but what stands behind it. Sawiris built his earlier investment activity in telecoms through Orascom Telecom, with interests also spanning hospitality and mining, and ORA today reports a land bank above 76 million square metres and a portfolio described as 17 projects across seven countries, with a UAE headquarters at One Central in Dubai.

What that scale changes is a specific risk. Projects stall when a developer runs short of funding part-way through construction, and the past fifteen years have removed several Egyptian names from the market for exactly that reason. A company of this size and ownership is not seeking its first construction facility.

What it does not tell a buyer is whether a particular building will be finished well, handed over on the stated date, or managed properly afterwards. Those questions are answered project by project, and the section on Pyramid Hills below sets out how to answer them yourself.

Vision and values

ORA publishes five values: Excellence in architectural detail and execution quality, Balance between buildings and natural space, Happiness in environments that encourage social and sporting activity, Sustainability, and Innovation, which the company defines as designing to each site rather than repeating a single model.

That last one is the only one a buyer can actually test, and the portfolio bears it out.

ZED Sheikh Zayed is a dense urban project of roughly 4,700 apartments organised around a single 65-feddan park. Silversands is a low-density coastal resort across 503 feddans with swimmable lagoons and two hotels. Solana New Zayed is a villa-led suburban community on 316 feddans. Pyramid Hills is a 93-feddan mixed-format project beside the Giza plateau.

Those are four genuinely different products rather than one formula applied four times, which is more than many Egyptian developers can say. The practical consequence is that you cannot judge one ORA project by another. Liking ZED’s urban character tells you very little about whether Solana will suit you.

ORA Developers projects in Egypt

The Egyptian portfolio spans six destinations across Sheikh Zayed, New Zayed, New Cairo, West Giza and the North Coast:

• ZED Sheikh Zayed: Sheikh Zayed, 165 feddans, around 4,700 apartments plus retail, offices and clinics
• ZED East: New Cairo, apartments, villas and townhouses, more than 50% green space
• Solana New Zayed: New Zayed, 316 feddans, 870 villas and townhouses plus 1,300 apartments
• Solana East: New Cairo, villas and townhouses, low density
• Silversands: Sidi Heneish on the North Coast, 503 feddans, 1,740 chalets and coastal apartments plus 1,320 houses
• Pyramid Hills: West Cairo near the Giza plateau, 93 feddans, villas, twin houses, townhouses and apartments

ZED Sheikh Zayed

ZED sits in the heart of Sheikh Zayed near El Nozha Street and the 26th of July axis, across 165 feddans, of which 65 feddans are ZED Park. The masterplan comprises approximately 4,700 apartments alongside commercial space, offices and clinics, with the residential zones linked to the central park by open walkways.

The park allocation is the number that defines the project. Sixty-five feddans out of 165 is roughly 39% of the entire development given to a single open space, and that one decision explains the product.

At around 4,700 apartments on 165 feddans, the density works out near 147 square metres of site area per unit, which is apartment-tower density rather than compound density. The park is what makes living at that density workable, and concentrating the open space rather than scattering it is what allows amenity a pocket garden cannot deliver: mature planting, real walking distances, room for events.

For a buyer that carries one clear implication. In a project built on this logic, orientation to ZED Park is the price variable that matters most. A park-facing apartment and an inward-facing one of identical size are not the same asset whatever the list says. Ask which units overlook the park and what the premium is, because that premium is also what protects resale.

ZED East

ZED East is located in New Cairo near the southern end of 90th Street and the Middle Ring Road, with onward access to the New Administrative Capital and the Ain Sokhna road. It comprises apartments, villas and townhouses, with more than 50% of the area given to green space, alongside a sports club and commercial and administrative districts.

The broader product mix is what separates it from ZED Sheikh Zayed, so buyers who want a house within the ZED brand should look here rather than in Zayed.

The location is the stronger half of the proposition. The southern end of 90th Street sits inside New Cairo’s established prime corridor, and both the Administrative Capital and the coast are reachable without crossing the city.

Solana New Zayed

ORA developed Solana across 316 feddans in New Zayed, comprising 870 villas and townhouses plus 1,300 residential apartments, with a sports club, running and cycling tracks, water features and commercial services.

Run the density and the character becomes clear. Around 2,170 units across 316 feddans gives roughly 611 square metres of site area per unit, which is about four times less dense than ZED Sheikh Zayed. Solana is a low-density, villa-led suburban community where ZED is an urban one.

The mix of houses and apartments inside one community also matters on exit. A development containing both draws on a wider internal buyer pool than a villa-only or apartment-only scheme, which tends to support liquidity across both tiers.

Silversands North Coast

Silversands is the most ambitious project in the Egyptian portfolio, and the figures show why.

It sits at KM 222 on the Alexandria–Matrouh road, between Almaza Bay and Sidi Heneish, across 503 feddans with a beachfront exceeding one kilometre. The masterplan comprises 1,740 chalets and coastal apartments plus 1,320 villas, twin houses and townhouses, with 80,000 square metres of swimmable lagoons, two hotels and four social service buildings.

Three numbers are worth putting together.

• Density: 3,060 units across 503 feddans is roughly 690 square metres of site area per unit, the lowest in ORA’s Egyptian portfolio and genuinely low for a coastal resort.
• Beach to land: 503 feddans behind just over a kilometre of beach works out near 0.5 feddans of land for every metre of shoreline. Most North Coast resorts sit between 0.15 and 0.36 on the same measure, so this is a deep site running a long way inland relative to its frontage.
• The lagoons: which is exactly why 80,000 square metres of swimmable water is structural rather than decorative. On a site this deep, the back rows sit a serious distance from the sea, and eight hectares of swimmable lagoon is how a developer brings usable water to inland owners. Without it, a 503-feddan plot behind one kilometre of beach would leave a large share of buyers with no water access at all.

So at Silversands the question is not only how far a unit sits from the beach. It is which lagoon serves that cluster and how close it is, and for a back-row unit that may matter more to the experience of a summer than the distance to the shore.

Pyramid Hills

Pyramid Hills sits in West Cairo near the Giza plateau and Sheikh Zayed, across 93 feddans, comprising villas, twin houses, townhouses and apartments. Phases one and two have been built, and the West Gate extension is in development.

This is the most important project in the portfolio for anyone considering ORA anywhere, and it has nothing to do with the units themselves. Phases one and two are finished and occupied, which makes Pyramid Hills the one place where what this developer actually builds can be inspected rather than rendered. The section below sets out what to look for.

Solana East

Solana East carries the Solana brand into East Cairo, targeting low-density villas and townhouses within a plan built around gardens and open areas.

What that represents is brand replication across geographies rather than product replication across sites. Expect Solana East to feel closer to Solana New Zayed than to ZED East, despite sharing a city with the latter.

ORA Developers prices

Prices vary substantially across the six destinations, because they are genuinely different products in different markets. ZED is apartment-led in prime Sheikh Zayed and prime New Cairo. The two Solana projects are villa-led and low density. Silversands is coastal at KM 222. Pyramid Hills is mixed format beside the Giza plateau with completed phases.

Three things are worth requesting in writing when you enquire:

A dated price list for the specific project and phase. Egyptian off-plan pricing moves between releases, and a figure quoted from an earlier phase is a historical record rather than an offer.

The price per square metre, not only the total. Per-metre pricing is the only way to compare units inside a project and compare ORA against competing developers.

The premium attached to position. In every one of these projects position is a major variable: park orientation at ZED, beach and lagoon proximity at Silversands, plot size at Solana. Ask what separates the best and worst position at the same unit size, because that gap is where the negotiation sits.

As a rough expectation to test against, ZED apartments are likely the most accessible entry given they are the densest product, Solana and Silversands villas will sit at the premium end, and Pyramid Hills may trade partly through resale rather than primary release given its completed phases.

For current pricing on any ORA project, call 01003366453.

Payment plans and installments

Terms differ by project, phase and release. Five points are worth settling before signing anything:

• The down payment and the full term. Egyptian developers currently offer anywhere from 0% to 35% down across three to twelve years, and the difference is material.
• Whether a longer plan costs more. Many developers charge a premium for extended terms. If two plans are offered, ask for both totals in writing so the financing cost is visible rather than buried.
• Whether a cash discount applies. Where offered these can be substantial, and the decision between cash and instalments depends on the return available on your own capital. It is worth having an accountant compare the discounted total against the present value of the instalment stream.
• Whether instalments track construction milestones or the calendar. Milestone-linked payments align the developer’s delivery incentive with your money.
• What maintenance and service charges run to, separately. Some Egyptian developers levy maintenance as a percentage of unit value at contract, occasionally as high as 10%, which changes the all-in cost considerably. Get it in writing as part of the price discussion rather than after it.

One general principle applies across every plan on offer. In an inflationary economy a fixed price paid across many years falls in real cost each year, which is why a modest premium for a longer term is usually worth paying. The trap is that a light deposit makes it easy to commit beyond what the long run supports, so price the full annual instalment across the whole term against income you can rely on.

Units and areas across the portfolio

The confirmed product mix by project:

• ZED Sheikh Zayed: around 4,700 apartments, plus commercial units, offices and clinics
• ZED East: apartments, villas and townhouses
• Solana New Zayed: 870 villas and townhouses, 1,300 apartments
• Solana East: villas and townhouses
• Silversands: 1,740 chalets and coastal apartments, 1,320 villas, twin houses and townhouses
• Pyramid Hills: villas, twin houses, townhouses and apartments

Specific unit sizes are set per phase and release, so request the size schedule for the project you are considering.

Apartments are most plentiful at ZED Sheikh Zayed, with around 4,700 units, and also available at ZED East, Solana New Zayed and Pyramid Hills. Houses appear at ZED East, both Solana projects, Silversands and Pyramid Hills, with the two Solanas being the villa-led communities specifically. Coastal product is Silversands only. Commercial and administrative units are confirmed at both ZED projects.

Choose the density before the project

With six projects across four regions, “which ORA project is best” is the wrong opening question. The more useful one is which density suits how you want to live, because the range inside this single portfolio is unusually wide:

• ZED Sheikh Zayed: around 147 square metres of site area per unit, urban and park-centred
• Solana New Zayed: around 611 square metres per unit, low-density suburban
• Silversands: around 690 square metres per unit, low-density coastal

That is a four to fivefold spread from one developer. Settle that question and the location and product follow from it.

Hotels and hospitality

Hospitality inside the Egyptian portfolio means one project. Silversands includes two hotels, alongside four social service buildings, within its 503 feddans. Internationally, ORA also operates Silversands Hotel in Grenada, so the group runs hospitality assets beyond Egypt.

Two hotels matter even to a buyer looking at a chalet rather than a hotel unit.

They generate off-season footfall that residential owners alone cannot, which is what keeps restaurants and services trading in May and September rather than only in August. They bring hotel-grade maintenance standards onto the site, and on a coast where salt air destroys anything unmaintained, that protects the asset directly. And they establish a visible short-let benchmark for owners who later want to rent.

Worth asking who operates them, under what agreement, and when they deliver relative to the residential phases. A hotel opening three years after the chalets delivers none of the above in the meantime.

Master plans

The confirmed masterplan features by project:

• ZED Sheikh Zayed: 165 feddans; a 65-feddan ZED Park; residential zones linked to the park by open walkways; retail, offices and clinics
• ZED East: more than 50% green space; a sports club; commercial and administrative districts
• Solana New Zayed: 316 feddans; sports club; running and cycling tracks; water features; commercial services
• Silversands: 503 feddans at KM 222; over a kilometre of beachfront; 80,000 square metres of swimmable lagoons; two hotels; four social service buildings
• Pyramid Hills: 93 feddans; phases one and two built; West Gate extension in development
• Solana East: gardens and open areas; low density

Two of those decisions reward a closer look.

ZED’s 65-feddan park buys high residential density elsewhere on the site while still delivering substantial open space. Concentrating it supports amenity that scattered gardens never can, at the cost of making value orientation-dependent, so some owners capture far more of the benefit than others.

Silversands’ lagoons are the structural answer to a deep plot, as set out above.

Both show the same competence appearing twice: identify the specific constraint of the site, then design around it rather than dropping a template onto it.

Amenities by project

• ZED Sheikh Zayed: the 65-feddan ZED Park, open walkways, commercial space, offices, clinics
• ZED East: more than 50% green space, sports club, commercial and administrative districts
• Solana New Zayed: sports club, running and cycling tracks, water features, commercial services
• Silversands: over a kilometre of beach, 80,000 square metres of swimmable lagoons, two hotels, four social service buildings
• Pyramid Hills: mixed residential formats, completed phases one and two, West Gate extension
• Solana East: gardens and open areas, low-density layout

School provision, medical facilities beyond ZED’s clinics, security arrangements, backup power, service charge levels and the identity of the facility manager after handover are all set per project. Request the full amenity schedule and the projected annual service charge per square metre for the specific project you are considering, since on a long hold those are not minor details.

Delivery dates

Handover dates are set per project and phase. The one confirmed completion point in the Egyptian portfolio carries real weight: at Pyramid Hills, phases one and two have been built, with West Gate under development. What that establishes is that ORA has finished and handed over residential phases in Egypt rather than only launching them.

For any purchase, four things belong in the contract:

• Your unit’s own contractual delivery date, rather than a marketing year for the project
• The delay penalty clause, which indicates delivery confidence more reliably than any stated date
• The itemised finishing specification, with brands and grades rather than a description
• Instalments tied to construction milestones rather than calendar dates
• Then visit the site of your specific phase and compare what is standing against the schedule you were shown.

Resale properties

The portfolio indicates where a secondary market is most likely to exist.

Pyramid Hills is the obvious candidate, with phases one and two finished and occupied. That is worth more than it first appears for three reasons. Construction risk disappears, because you are inspecting a real building rather than a render. You get price discovery, meaning what buyers actually pay rather than what a list asks. And the unit may be usable immediately.

ZED Sheikh Zayed comes next, simply on scale. Around 4,700 apartments creates a large owner base, and large owner bases generate secondary supply.

On any off-plan unit, ask whether contract assignment is permitted before handover, on what terms and at what fee. In Egypt that is the main route out before delivery and the terms vary considerably between developers, so it is worth settling before signing rather than at the point you need it.

Due diligence: go and see Pyramid Hills

If you take one thing from this guide, take this. Phases one and two at Pyramid Hills are built and lived in, which makes them the strongest evidence available about what ORA delivers, and inspecting them costs an afternoon.

What to look at:

• Build and finish quality on handed-over units, meaning real occupied homes rather than a show villa
• The condition of common areas since handover
• Whether the landscaping is maintained or was quietly dropped once the sales phase ended
• Whether West Gate is progressing as described
• Whether the project is actually lived in or substantially empty

Then speak to residents. Ask how handover went against what they were promised, what the finish was like, what the service charge is and how quickly it has risen, how the developer responds when something breaks, and whether they would buy from ORA again. That conversation is the most valuable information available about any developer in this market, and no brochure substitutes for it.

Then verify the project you are actually buying into: which phase, its contractual date, who the main contractor is and what they have delivered, who the design and structural consultants are, construction progress against schedule, service charges in writing, whether buyer payments sit in an escrow or project account, and what position costs at your chosen unit size.

Who ORA Developers suits

• Buyers who want a choice of density within one developer, given the range runs from around 147 to around 690 square metres of site area per unit
• Apartment buyers and letting investors, where ZED Sheikh Zayed is the deepest offering in a prime location
• Villa buyers, who should be looking at Solana New Zayed and Solana East
• Coastal buyers, where Silversands brings a kilometre of beach, eight hectares of swimmable lagoons and two hotels
• Cautious buyers, because Pyramid Hills allows finished work to be inspected before committing anywhere in the portfolio
• Gulf buyers, given a group with a Dubai headquarters and assets across seven countries

Points to consider

The company has carried the ORA name since 2016, so buyers who weigh a long single-brand record heavily should factor that in alongside the group’s scale and the Gemini Global history that precedes it. Current prices and payment plans are set per phase rather than published openly, so an enquiry is needed before comparing. Branded or serviced residences are not part of the Egyptian portfolio. And aside from resale at Pyramid Hills, these are off-plan purchases rather than homes available now.

The bottom line

ORA Developers is Naguib Sawiris’s property company, which took its current name in 2016 having previously operated as Gemini Global Development, and now works across seven countries on a land bank reported above 76 million square metres.

The six Egyptian projects are ZED Sheikh Zayed at 165 feddans with around 4,700 apartments and a 65-feddan park, ZED East with mixed formats and over half its area green, Solana New Zayed at 316 feddans with 870 houses and 1,300 apartments, Solana East with low-density houses, Silversands at KM 222 with 503 feddans, a kilometre of beach, 80,000 square metres of swimmable lagoons and two hotels, and Pyramid Hills at 93 feddans with phases one and two complete.

What distinguishes the portfolio is that these six are genuinely different products rather than one formula repeated, with a four to fivefold density spread from ZED’s urban 147 square metres per unit to Silversands’ coastal 690. The masterplans show the same thinking twice over: a 65-feddan park that makes urban density workable, and eight hectares of lagoon that make a deep coastal plot function.

Five things to do before committing anywhere in this portfolio:

1. Go and see Pyramid Hills. Phases one and two are built, and it is the only place to verify what ORA delivers rather than what it draws.
2. Get a dated price list and the rate per square metre for your specific project and phase.
3. Get the full payment plan, and ask whether maintenance is charged separately and at what percentage.
4. Establish what position costs at your unit size, because in every ORA project position is the dominant variable.
5. Secure your contractual delivery date, the delay penalty clause, and milestone-linked instalments.

For current prices, availability and payment plans across ORA’s Egyptian projects, call 01003366453.