Majid Al Futtaim is set to invest 4.9 billion Egyptian pounds ($683.4 million) in the construction of the Mall of Egypt.

Top government officials including Ibrahim Matlab, Egyptian Prime Minister along with Ashraf Salman, Ministry of Investment and Dr Mostafa Madbouli, Minister of Housing, visited the construction site, with MAF top management.

Alain Bejjani, chief corporate development and brand officer, MAF Holding, said: “Majid Al Futtaim has been operating in Egypt for more than 12 years, providing Egyptians with dynamic retail experiences from Cairo to Alexandria as well as other governorates.

“Egypt is one of the most promising markets in the region; our commitment to investing in Egypt has been and will continue to be a strategic one that we seek to develop through pumping new investments as the country moves to a new promising phase. Our ultimate objective continues to be providing an unparalleled retail experience that meets the increasingly sophisticated interests of Egyptian consumers.”

Located in 6th of October City, on Al Wahat Road, the two-level mall will span a gross leasable area (GLA) of 165,000 sq m and will include over 420 stores presenting offerings from a variety of international and local brands, said a statement.

In addition to the diverse retail mix, Mall of Egypt will also feature more than 50 food and beverage outlets as well as a 21-screen VOX cinema multiplex; Magic Planet; and Ski Egypt, the first indoor ski slope in the continent of Africa, it said.

It will also feature a Carrefour Hypermarket along with a total of 6,500 parking spaces and is projected to open in 2016.

Abdallah El Nockrashy, MAF Properties country head for Egypt, said: “Majid Al Futtaim is committed to maintaining and expanding its business in Egypt, especially that we believe that the market is ready for more investment. We are optimistically looking forward to further growth - growth we believe will yield beneficial results not only to our business, but to the economy at large.

“Egypt is undergoing a great transformation that promises a new age of prosperity. As such we’re keen to actively take part in this process through establishing a project that will create thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities, as well as, encourage current players in the retail industry to expand their businesses and open new opportunities.”

In the pre-opening phase, Mall of Egypt subcontracted nearly 9,000 engineers and workers from international and Egyptian companies to complete the construction.

Its senior operations team and mall staff consists of 98 per cent Egyptians, while the mall aims to source 90 per cent of its procurements locally.

Meanwhile, the company has also invested 250 million Egyptian pounds in road works to provide traffic solutions for roads surrounding the site to facilitate traffic flow in the area and allow visitors direct and safe access from Al Wahat Road.

It is also set to incorporate international best practices in sustainability with the objective of promoting environmental efficiency while delivering benefits to the community, customers and supply chains alike, said the statement.

The mall is working with relevant local partners to help develop, implement and eventually maintain the sustainability strategy, to achieve this objective. The strategy includes developing environmental data management system in order to effectively measure and monitor efficiency achieved in managing energy, water and waste. - TradeArabia News Service