Damac will develop 320 million square feet (3,000 hectares) of land at Gamsha Bay, also known as Gemsa Bay, 80 km (50 miles) north of Hurghada town, Damac Chairman Hussain Sajwani told reporters.

The project includes hotels, 5,000 villas, an 18-hole golf course and a marina, he said.

The project is the latest and biggest of several massive investments in Egyptian real estate by Arab businesses, led by Emaar Properties EMAR.CA of Dubai and Jordanian businessman Khaled Shaheen.

Sajwani said Damac had bought the land from the Egyptian government and would finance the development partly through the sale of properties over the five to seven years that it will take to complete the project.

The company will market the villas mainly to Arabs and Europeans, who come to the Red Sea in the winter for the sun, the beaches and the diving. Sales of villas along the Red Sea coast is a booming business.

Sajwani said: “The Egyptian economy has done really well. The government is changing its attitude. I think it (Egyptian tourism) will continue to grow.”