The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Thursday it will provide EGP 50 bn to reintroduce subsidized mortgages for middle-income homeowners, according to a statement (pdf). A committee with members from the central bank, local banks, and real estate developers will be formed to discuss the specifics of the financing. The mortgage financing program is meant to support the real estate sector to expand projects that “will have an economic impact in employment, GDP, and the economy,” the statement says.

Background: Earlier in April, the central bank has agreed to a proposal from the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ Real Estate Development Chamber to reintroduce lower interest rates for would-be middle-income homebuyers. The initiative will offer preferential interest rates of 10.5% to prospective homeowners starting from July, the chamber’s chairman Tarek Shoukry said at the time. A similar program originally ran from 2014 until January this year and offered middle-income homeowners long-term loans at a 5-7% rate of interest.