Orascom Construction Industries – OCI – (OCIC.CA) announced today that a 50/50 joint venture between BESIX and Orascom Construction, a 100% owned subsidiary of OCI, has been awarded a US$ 400 million contract to construct Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ Mall of Egypt. The mall will be located in the Sixth of October City outside of Cairo. The joint venture has been awarded the project on a lump sum fixed price basis and construction is scheduled for completion in approximately 34 months.
Mall of Egypt will be a 162,500 square meter shopping and leisure development that will include an indoor ski park, a 17-screen cinema complex, 380 retail outlets, a Carrefour hypermarket, an outdoor plaza, an amusement park, a car park, and other associated facilities. The ski park, Ski Egypt, will be modeled after the Ski Dubai component in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, a Majid Al Futtaim Properties development.
Peter Walichnowski, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Properties, commented: “We are now in our 20th year of operations and, notably, have been in Egypt for ten of those years. Egypt’s strong economic fundamentals, such as its young and growing population, make it an attractive growth market. We are committed to building on our success in Egypt and investing in the country’s long-term economic growth.”
OCI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nassef Sawiris commented: “This is the largest foreign investment in Egypt since the election of the new government. We have been very impressed by the efficient manner in which the new leadership reviewed required regulatory approvals for this project and we look forward to continuing to work together. The Mall of Egypt development marks an important milestone in Egypt’s economic recovery and signals a resurgence of private foreign investment in the country.”
OCI Construction Group Chief Operating Officer, Osama Bishai commented: “Over the past decade Orascom Construction has been a key player in the construction of Egypt’s mega commercial projects and is responsible for a total built-up area of over 2 million square meters. These projects include the Nile City Towers complex, which was constructed in joint venture with BESIX, as well as Mall of Arabia, City Stars, Cairo Festival City, and the extension of Majid Al Futtaim Properties’s Maadi City Centre. The Orascom Construction/BESIX joint venture has also been part of the construction of Egypt’s iconic hotels including the Conrad Hotel, the Grand Hyatt and the Fairmont Nile City. The Mall of Egypt award underscores the success of the joint venture in constructing large-scale commercial projects and we look forward to building on our long-standing relationship with Majid Al Futtaim Properties.”
About Orascom Construction Industries
OCI is one of Egypt’s largest corporations employing more than 72,000 people in 35 countries around the globe. The OCI Fertilizer Group owns and operates nitrogen fertilizer plants in Egypt, the Netherlands, the United States, and Algeria and has an international distribution platform spanning from the Americas to Asia. The OCI Fertilizer Group ranks among the world’s top fertilizer producers with a production capacity which will exceed 7.0 million metric tons in 2012. The OCI Construction Group provides international engineering and construction services primarily on infrastructure, industrial and high-end commercial projects in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa for public and private clients. The OCI Construction Group ranks among the world’s top global contractors.
About BESIX Group
BESIX Group is the largest Belgian group, operating in construction, roads, infrastructure, environmental, concessions and property development sectors. It profiles itself as a multi-services group. The Group was founded in 1909, since when it has grown steadily and impressively. BESIX, its biggest subsidiary, is active in practically every field of construction. In addition to the activities of BESIX and its other subsidiaries, Cobelba, Jacques Delens, Socogetra, Vanhout, Wust, Franki Foundation Belgium, BESIX Park, Lux TP, West Construct in Benelux-France, the Group is present in Eastern Europe, North and Central Africa and the Middle East, via Six Construct, in Central Asia and Australia. In 2011, the Group achieved revenues of EUR 1.71 billion. The Group has about 18,000 employees active in 17 countries on 4 different continents.
About Majid Al Futtaim Properties
Majid Al Futtaim Properties is the leading developer of shopping malls together with hotels and communities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Majid Al Futtaim Properties has changed the face of shopping, leisure and entertainment across the region with eleven world-class malls operating in the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt and two currently under development in Cairo, Egypt and Beirut, Lebanon. In April 2012, Majid Al Futtaim Properties opened its sixth strategic mall in the UAE with Fujairah City Centre. The Company’s shopping malls continue to witness a steady increase in footfall with more than 140 million visitors in 2011. Majid Al Futtaim Properties has earned numerous accolades and awards from international organisations that have recognised its leadership and the quality of its properties.
Majid Al Futtaim Properties has four flagship shopping malls; Mall of the Emirates, Midriff City Centre and Deira City Centre in Dubai and Bahrain City Centre. Majid Al Futtaim Properties also owns nine hotels in the UAE and two in Bahrain, all of which are linked to the company’s shopping malls. The hotels’ strategic proximity to the company’s shopping malls promotes direct access to a wider international demographic and attracts more than 1.2 million guests annually. The Company is currently developing three master-planned communities. The Wave, Muscat, a joint venture with the Government of Oman; Waterfront City in Beirut, Lebanon, a joint venture with Société Joseph Khoury & Fils Holding; and SAL, Al Zahia, developed by Sharjah Holding, a joint venture between the Government of Sharjah and Majid Al Futtaim Properties.
