When a seller says a unit is "in Obour", the first question is: which Obour? There is Al Obour City, the established city with its own development authority, and there is New Obour City, created by a presidential decree in 2016 and run by a separate authority. The body you deal with for paperwork, handover and land legalisation differs between the two. This guide starts with that difference, then covers roads, transport and services, and ends with how to check a payment plan.
Al Obour and New Obour at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Al Obour City | Established city run by the Obour City Development Authority, with industrial zones and residential districts |
| New Obour City | New urban community created by Presidential Decree No. 249 of 2016, under the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) |
| New Obour strategic plan | Approved by Ministerial Decree No. 1005 of 2017 |
| New Obour area in the decree | 58,914.4 feddans, including 6 sites of 13,769.819 feddans that remain owned by the Armed Forces |
| New Obour land location | Km 15 to 25 on the Cairo-Belbeis Desert Road, and Km 26 to 48 on the Cairo (Masr)-Ismailia road |
| Mass transit | Obour station on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) |
Decree and area data from Al-Ahram Gate (June and July 2016), the strategic plan from the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform (May 2026), and the rail data from Cairo Governorate.
Two cities, two authorities
Al Obour City
The established city is run by the Obour City Development Authority. In December 2024 the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform reported that the authority was resurfacing main roads in the industrial zone, including Street 900 and Street 600, as part of a wider upgrade of roads and sidewalks in the zone's northern and western extensions, to ease truck movement and congestion around factories.
In February 2025 the Housing Ministry spokesperson announced, as reported by the same platform, more than 350 fully finished residential units in the Second District Extension of Obour City, sized 80 to 132 square metres, under a Housing Finance Fund project, first come first served, with a EGP 100,000 booking deposit. He described the city as very close to East Cairo.
Qalyubia Governorate follows projects in the area: in January 2020 El Watan reported a tour by the Qalyubia governor of housing projects in Obour and New Obour.
New Obour City
Presidential Decree No. 249 of 2016 created a new urban community named New Obour City. According to Al-Ahram Gate, the decree required the General Authority for Reconstruction Projects and Agricultural Development to hand the land files to NUCA within 3 months at most, required NUCA to prepare the strategic and detailed plans within a year and a half, and tasked NUCA with surveying the land on the ground and collecting what the state is owed for changing the land's use, in cash or in kind.
A month later, Al-Ahram Gate reported that the housing minister at the time had directed the city authority's officials to assert control over its land, and that signs were posted stating the land belongs to NUCA. Subtracting the Armed Forces sites from the decree total leaves about 45,145 feddans for NUCA:
In April 2019 the housing minister said, according to Al-Ahram Gate, that the city's foundation stone was laid in March 2018 and that works tendered and under way in the first year totalled EGP 4.9 billion. The report mentioned a main road network of about 150 km, detailed plans being finalised for 5,000 feddans, social housing and "Sakan Misr" units under construction, and Road R1, which links the Middle Ring Road with the Regional Ring Road and opened in September 2018.
Area names that appear in news about the city include Al-Amal, Al-Qadisiya and Al-Talae; Al-Talae is now District 19, according to the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform (July 2026). El Watan also named the Al-Horreya and Al-Karama districts in its January 2020 report on social housing.
Location and access
Roads
According to Al-Ahram Gate (July 2016), New Obour's land lies between the Cairo-Belbeis Desert Road and the Cairo-Ismailia road. In September 2024 NUCA officials inspected two roads in the city, as reported by the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform:
| Road | From - to | Length per source |
|---|---|---|
| R3 | Al-Amal area to the Middle Ring Road | 5.8 km |
| R4 | Middle Ring Road to the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road | 11.2 km |
The source gives no completion rates or dates for these roads, so ask about their current status if the plot depends on them. In July 2026 the platform reported that the authority head reviewed the city's entrance from the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road and inspected construction of the Eastern Entrance Gateway.
Light Rail Transit
Cairo Governorate's page says LRT phases 1 and 2 opened on 3 July 2022: 68.81 km and 12 stations, starting at Adly Mansour, then Obour, Mostakbal, El Shorouk, New Heliopolis and Badr, where the line branches toward 10th of Ramadan City and toward the New Administrative Capital. Adly Mansour is an interchange with Cairo Metro Line 3.
The same page says phase 4, 16 km long, runs north from New Obour City station to City Center station in 10th of Ramadan, and lists it as under construction with no opening date. In the winter timetable published by Al-Ahram Gate in October 2025, New Obour (Al-Maarefa) station appears as a departure point for trains toward Badr. Check the current timetable before you plan a daily commute around it.
What is there
Services
Al Obour City has a new hospital on Line 10 Street, between Districts 3 and 8. In November 2024 the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform put construction at 84% and capacity at 189 beds. In April 2026 Al-Ahram Gate reported that the health minister inspected Obour General Hospital at 99% completion, on a 16,700 square metre site, with departments including emergency, intensive care, dialysis and radiology, serving about one million people in the area and nearby. The source gives no opening date.
Recent decisions and offerings in New Obour
- Ministerial Decree No. 222 of 2026, as published by the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform in May 2026, approves the detailed plan for a regional services zone on the Middle Ring Road covering 545.15 feddans in Districts 25 and 26.
- In June 2026 the city authority announced a public auction on 10 June 2026 of commercial and administrative units: 10 shops, a pharmacy and 11 administrative or professional units (the headline says 21 units, while the breakdown adds up to 22).
- In January 2025 the authority announced two public draws to allocate land in the Al-Qadisiya and Al-Amal areas, with plot sizes from 209 to 500 square metres, as part of efforts to finish legalising the status of areas added to new cities.
- In July 2026 the authority head asked contractors to speed up work in District 19 (formerly Al-Talae) ahead of announcing handover dates for its neighbourhoods; no dates had been announced at that point.
How to check a payment plan in Obour and New Obour
We do not list prices or "typical" instalment terms here. Offers in the two cities range from government offerings to private projects and legalised plots, and no recent official source sets an average. The accurate route is to calculate the offer you hold. Questions specific to this area:
- Is the unit or plot in Al Obour City or in New Obour? The responsible authority differs, and the city named in the contract should match it.
- If the plot is in an area added to New Obour, has its legal status been settled? Decree 249 of 2016 tasks NUCA with collecting the state's dues for the change of land use, and the 2025 draw announcements tie allocation to paid deposits or completed payments.
- Has a handover date been announced for the neighbourhood? In District 19, for example, dates had not been announced as of July 2026. If the offer is off-plan, read off-plan vs ready units.
- What is the down payment, is the discount applied before or after it, and what are the instalment frequency and count?
- How much is the maintenance deposit and when is it due? Maintenance deposit and service charges explained covers what to ask.
For step-by-step instalment maths, read down payment and installments, and to add up everything you will pay, see total cost of ownership.
Illustrative example with hypothetical numbers: a unit priced at EGP 3,000,000, 15% down, the balance over 6 years.
| Frequency | Instalments in 6 years | Instalment amount |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 24 | EGP 106,250 |
| Semi-annual | 12 | EGP 212,500 |
This excludes the maintenance deposit and any other fees. Results are planning estimates; the developer contract or the offering's terms booklet sets the final amounts.
If you are comparing Obour with its neighbours on the same corridor, the El Shorouk and Badr guide covers the next LRT stations, the New Administrative Capital guide covers the end of the line, and there are guides to Madinaty and New Cairo.
Frequently asked questions
Are Al Obour and New Obour the same city?
No. Al Obour is an established city run by the Obour City Development Authority. New Obour is an urban community created by Presidential Decree 249 of 2016, with its own development authority under NUCA.
How big is New Obour?
Presidential Decree 249 of 2016 set 58,914.4 feddans, with the Armed Forces keeping ownership of 6 sites inside it totalling 13,769.819 feddans, according to Al-Ahram Gate. The remainder is about 45,145 feddans.
Does the light rail reach Obour?
Yes. According to Cairo Governorate, Obour station is the second stop after Adly Mansour on phases 1 and 2, which opened in July 2022. Phase 4 toward 10th of Ramadan starts at New Obour City station and was listed as under construction on that page.
Are there government offerings in the two cities?
Yes. Examples from the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform: Housing Finance Fund units in the Second District Extension of Al Obour (February 2025) and an auction of commercial and administrative units in New Obour (June 2026). Offerings change often, so read the current terms booklet.
Do you publish price per metre in Obour?
No. We only publish prices or yields from a reliable, dated source. Work out the price per metre from your own offer: total price divided by area.
Run the numbers
The CalcRealty payment plan calculator takes the down payment, a discount before or after the down payment, and the maintenance deposit, then builds a full monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual schedule with the date, amount and percentage of every payment, with PDF export in English. You can also calculate price per square metre in both directions and ROI. Get CalcRealty free on Google Play, then read down payment and installments and real estate ROI.