CAIRO: Qatar's giant real estate developer Qatari Diar announced Monday it began excavation work on its $1 billion complex overlooking the Nile in Cairo, due to be inaugurated in 2011. The complex - dubbed Cornishe El Nil - is a twin tower mega project, which includes the internationally renowned brand St. Regis Hotel, upscale residential community units with amenities such as private clubs, restaurants, schools, swimming pools, and shopping centers. "The Egyptian market is a promising market, where ongoing economic development has pulled in several investments to Egypt, said Nasr Al Ansaryi, board member of Qatari Diar. "There is a strong need for growth in tourism investment in Egypt, and Qatari Diar focuses on tourism projects that attract a large number of tourists. Recent data shows that some 80,000 Qatari tourists visited Egypt last year, while more than 400,000 visited from the Gulf. "Our projects seek to attract a large number of tourists with strong purchasing ability. A tourist's average spending rate in Egypt is very low compared to other countries, despite being a major tourist draw, he added. "Our aim is not to only attract tourists who [crave] the sun, but to also increase Egypt's commercial and entertainment tourism. With an empire that stretches from Cuba to China, state-owned real estate group Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company has positioned itself as the prime mover and shaker of Qatar's real estate and tourism investment sectors. Established in 2004, the company has poured in total investments worth $40 billion in 32 countries worldwide. In tandem with Egypt's rapid real-estate growth, Qatari Diar is bullish on the country's ever-growing housing sector and has so far poured in over $6 billion investments in three residential and tourism mega projects. Besides the Cornishe El Nil project, Qatari Diar has ventured into two tourism resort complexes in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, with investments exceeding $500 million. Qatari investment in Egypt is on the rise and its ultimate target is a staggering $12 billion, which includes a huge industrial zone project. Last year, Egypt's Ministry of Trade and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Qatari Diar to set up Qatar's first Industrial Zone in Egypt. Spread across 9.5 million square meters, the Qatari Industrial Zone will be located in Borg El Arab on the Mediterranean coast and is expected to generate production worth LE 55 billion and investments worth LE 16 billion as well as create 133,000 jobs in Egypt over the next ten years. "Egypt is spacious and offers a cheap labor force, factors that encourage investors to increase their projects in Egypt, explained Ghanem Bin Ghanem Al Saad, CEO of Qatari Diar. Currently, Qatar ranks the second-largest Arab investor in Egypt after Saudi Arabia, but ahead of Kuwait. In 2007, Qatari investments in Egypt were mainly in sectors such as construction (LE 981 million) and financial services (LE 77 million). The new Qatari Industrial Zone is estimated to make Egypt s industrial sector one of the largest recipient of Qatari investment in Egypt. There are several other Qatari-Egyptian dossiers under discussion, Al Saad pointed out, notably in the sectors of infrastructure development, water, rural electrification, and waste management. In a bid to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations between the two Arab countries, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Egypt s Minister of Trade and Industry, concluded last Saturday an official visit to Qatar. According to the Qatari press, the minister s visit made a particular emphasis on attracting Qatari investment into the newly planned Qatari Industrial Zone in Egypt. Speaking in Doha, Minister Rachid said, "As the rise of this new industrial zone suggests, our relationship is becoming increasingly focused on economics and mutual investment opportunities. "Egypt today has more to offer Gulf investors than at any other time in the past. After years of aggressive economic reforms, Egypt is successfully transforming itself into a regional export and investment hub, he added. "In 2007 alone, our economy grew at 7.5 percent, while export growth stood at 45 percent. Egypt successfully attracted $11 billion in foreign direct investment in the same period, up from less than $1 billion four years ago. "Those are remarkable statistics by any standards, and Gulf-based investors are playing a significant role in Egypt s ongoing fiscal renaissance, as they identify investment opportunities close to home, he said.
