Majid Al Futtaim Lays Foundation for City Centre Almaza as the 3rd City Centre in Egypt and the 14th in the MENA Region

Cairo, Egypt: Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa, hosted today a bricklaying event for its latest development in Egypt, City Centre Almaza. The mall will be Majid Al Futtaim's 3rd City Centre in Egypt and its 14th in the City Centre network - the largest mall network across the Middle East.

The City Centre Almaza bricklaying event was attended by H.E. Minister of Investment Ashraf Salman, H.E. Mostafa Madbouly Minister of Housing as well as Majid Al Futtaim senior management including Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer - Majid Al Futtaim Holding and Abdalla El Nockrashy, Egypt Country Head for Majid Al Futtaim Properties. During the bricklaying event, which took place at the project's construction site, the mock-up model of the mall was showcased to attendees.

The project, worth an estimated EGP 4 billion, is expected to create 22,000 direct and 14,000 indirect job opportunities. Located in Cairo's high-end suburb of Heliopolis on the north eastern quadrant of the junction between the Cairo-Suez Road and Nasr Road in Heliopolis, City Centre Almaza is projected to open by Q1 2019, and will feature 103,455 square metres of retail space offering over 300 of the best international and local brands, and as well as 23 restaurants, 18 food court outlets and nine cafes. In addition to housing a unique retail mix of the leading international and local brands, City Centre Almaza will include a 13,040 square metre Carrefour, 16 state-of-the-art VOX cinema screens, a 1,800 square metre Magic Planet family entertainment centre and 4,000 parking spaces.

"Majid Al Futtaim is a long term investor in Egypt having made a significant investment in bringing unrivalled experiences to the country's retail and leisure sectors since 1998. Our commitment to Egypt's long term sustainable development means that we are immensely proud to begin work on City Centre Almaza and deliver on our ongoing support to Egypt as it moves towards becoming one of the world's leading economies," said Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding. "Being our second largest market after the UAE, Egypt's importance to our business is reflected in the implementation of our EGP 23 billion investment. Through this sizable investment we continue to expand our operations and hire Egyptians in alignment with the government's growth and development goals. We see great potential in the economy and with the support of the government we expect many successful years to come for the communities we serve as well as our business. Together we will create great moments for everyone, everyday in Egypt."

City Centre Almaza is one component of Majid Al Futtaim's massive investment plan in Egypt worth EGP 23 billion, which also encompasses the undergoing developments of another two shopping malls; Mall of Egypt and the expansion of City Centre Maadi, in addition to four neighbourhood centres in new residential cities in Cairo and the development of four new shopping malls in greater Cairo.

H.E Asharf Salman, Egypt's Minister of Investment said: "As we're moving ahead with Egypt's economic reform process, it is important for us to identify and work with experienced, committed partners. With its massive investment plan that’s coupled with sizable job opportunity creation, Majid al Futtaim is well positioned to play a significant role in the development of our country's retail landscape and economy in general."

Majid Al Futtaim's plan also includes expanding the network of Carrefour hypermarkets and supermarkets to 60 branches by end of 2019, and introducing the largest and first local VOX cinemas over the coming five years. Upon completion, this investment plan will have created a sizeable 144,000 direct and indirect jobs by providing significant employment opportunities for Egyptians.