Egypt's High Administrative Court on Tuesday rejected two appeals against a lower court's decision in a land case involving property developer Talaat Moustafa Group's (TMG) flagship project Madinaty.
The lower court ruled in June that the New Urban Communities Authority, a Housing Ministry body, broke the law when it sold land directly to a TMG unit instead of opening it up to bidding, and the contract should be scrapped.
The two appeals had been filed by the Government and by the company. Meanwhile, Talaat Moustafa Group told Reuters that customers of its flagship Madinaty project would not be affected by a court dispute over whether the original land purchase agreement was legal.
The ruling "will not cause any harm to (land) holders in the project, and their rights will not be touched" said Chief Financial Officer Jihad Sawaftah.
The ruling pulled shares in TMG as much as 5.3 per cent down.
In August, an Egyptian authority assigned to examine the sale of land in TMG Madinaty project recommended the court scrap the contract.
The State commission filed the report to the High Administrative Court.
A lower court ruled in July that the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), a body under the Housing Ministry, broke the law by selling the land directly to a TMG unit and not opening it up to bidding, and the contract should be scrapped.
