Soma Bay

In 2021, CDS was appointed as a strategic planning advisor to Abu Soma Development Company (ASDC).  ASDC is the owner, developer and operator of a prestigious holiday resort development located around 45km to the south of Hurghada International Airport.   

The popular, self-contained, community occupies a prime parcel of land on the Red Sea Coast.  The site is treasured for its more than 12km of uninterrupted pristine beach frontage.

The total site is around 1,000 Ha of land.  It consists of 6 hotels, world class golf facilities (18-hole championship course and practice facilities), spa and water treatment, residential villas and beach-side cabanas.  Its stunning setting, world-class facilities and year-round weather make it an attractive destination for national and international guests.  

With around 60% of the site unbuilt, ASDC want to accelerate development.  CDS have been brought into the in-house team to re-examine the masterplan and built projects.  The objective is to develop a masterplan of the future phases of the project through studying and merging the current developed zones along with the remaining potential developments, concluding a comprehensive efficient masterplan design for the whole project.

The project provides a number of very real challenges, including:

• The development is a ‘live site’.  As well as being under-development, the site is operational, receiving a significant amount of external visitor traffic attracted by the multiple branded hotels and associated facilities.  Thoughtful approaches to development phasing and delivery is important to maintaining visitor experience and ensuring repeat custom.
• The development is active on multiple fronts.  As such different parts of the site are in different stages of development, each with different levels of ‘fixed’ features or elements due to pre-sales or construction. 
• Shift away from the ‘mega-project’ style development. In response, the client is making a move to more manageable (10-50Ha) development packages. This change in packaging allows for a more agile delivery strategy and allows customers greater visibility of their investment (including spending on the development of the communal areas and infrastructure).
• Whilst conceived as a singular development, the compounding impacts of the various developments on infrastructure and mobility are not being regularly assessed or resolved.
• Risk that the Soma Bay brand and identity is diluted or lost.  The Hospitality DNA of the site needs to be embedded in the development.