Investment minister Osama Saleh met Tuesday with a delegation from Emirati Majid Al-Futtaim Holding, which plans to redevelop Maadi City Centre Mall, a project that is valued at EGP 3.2bn. Saleh welcomed the company's plan to increase its investment in Egypt and noted the need to cooperate with Cairo Governorate and concerned authorities to facilitate the development of the project. The venture could produce 27,000 job opportunities throughout the project, which is scheduled to be completed within three years, the minister added. The Emirati delegation included Abdallah Al-Nukrashy, board member and general manager of the group and Ahmed Fathi, the development director of the company, according to state-run Al-Ahram. Al-Nukrashy expressed his optimism with the determination in the investment sector, and the desire of the Ministry of Investment to resolve investor problems and promote investment. He stressed that the decision of his company to invest in redeveloping Maadi City Centre represents EGP 3.2bn instead of EGP 600m, which was planned in the first design of the project, reported Al-Ahram. Sherif Sami, a board member in the Investment Authority said the project was a sign of trust amid the current turmoil and added that: "Al Futtaim holding is a name that has weight in the business of commercial malls, so this will definitely help in the activation of tourism and investment." Majid Al Futtaim holding is a leading retail and leisure developer across the Middle East and North Africa region, and has built many shopping malls and hyper markets. The UAE the third-largest investor in Egypt, following Great Britain and Saudi Arabia.
