Cairo, Egypt, April 16, 2007: Emaar Misr for Development S.A.E, the wholly owned subsidiary of the UAE-based Emaar Properties PJSC, has consolidated its growth strategy in Egypt following the full acquisition of the company from local partners. “Our commitment to growth, timely delivery of projects and customer satisfaction is unshakeable,” said Company Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar.
The priorities for Emaar Misr are the development of Marassi, a mixed-use tourism focused project on prime land in Sidi Abdel Rahman and Alamein; and Uptown Cairo, a master-planned community in the Mukattam district in the capital city. Emaar Misr further announced that it will soon unveil two new projects in Egypt.
As part of accelerating the development of the Marassi project, all original investors with reservations numbers will be offered the opportunity to be allotted the plots and apartments of their choice and engage them as active participants in the project.
Mr Ali Abdul Aziz, Chairman, the Housing Tourism and Cinema Holding Company, said: “We are pleased that the deliberations regarding Emaar Misr have come to a successful completion and we extend our full support to Emaar Misr in developing Marassi. The timely development of projects like Marassi is important for Egypt to strengthen economic growth through diversification into high-growth sectors, including tourism.”
“Emaar has fulfilled all Government conditions by successfully completing the acquisition of Emaar Misr, and the EGP9.92 billion (AED 6.39 billion, US$1.74 billion) Marassi project is ready for roll out on schedule,” said Mr Alabbar. “We thank the Government and the Housing Tourism and Cinema Holding Company for their trust in Emaar’s ability to create world-class projects that will strengthen the country’s economy. They have reiterated their support to Marassi, a landmark tourism project, being developed by Emaar Misr.”
He added: “Our prime responsibility is towards the investors, who have placed their implicit trust in us, and we are committed to honour project delivery on schedule following stringent quality standards and our development plans for the country.”
“Emaar Misr now has the freedom to shape our projects in Egypt in line with internationally accepted procedures and business practices in sales & marketing, construction quality, customer service and facilities management. These are the practices that we follow in the 15 countries that we operate across the world and we aim to implement them without compromise in Egypt,” he said.
Mr Mohamed Anwar El Moshneb, Emaar Misr’s Director, Development, will oversee the management and development strategy of Emaar Misr, which opens a new office at the Emaar Sales Centre in Uptown Cairo, Mukattam.
“The new office in Egypt will have a core development team to drive forward the projects. We have also put in place a customer service unit, which will serve as an interface for customers to interact with the Emaar team and address their concerns and queries. In line with our strategy of transparency in operations, we will also keep our customers posted on the progress in the development of our projects and new operations,” Mr Moshneb added.
Emaar acquired the entire equity of Emaar Misr for Development S.A.E at a final committed deal valued at EGP808.9 million (AED 521.4 million; US$141.99 million). Emaar Misr is currently the largest private Foreign Direct Investor in Egypt with an investment portfolio of EGP33 billion (AED 21 billion; US$5.74 billion).
Marassi is a 1,544-acre tourist resort project located on Sidi Abdel Rahman and Alamein – the land won by Emaar in a bid for EGP998 million (AED 642.6 million, US$175 million). Emaar will develop a resort with up to 3,000 hotel rooms, a marina, golf course, hospital, healthcare facilities and total township development.
Uptown Cairo is an EGP12 billion (AED 7.7 billion, US$2.1 billion) mixed-use development spread over 4 million sq metres in downtown Cairo. The project will include a central town centre, private clubs, hotels, golf course, restaurants, cafes, schools, swimming pools, healthcare facilities, offices, shopping centres and places of worship.
