Carrefour Egypt is planning to open five new branches in June across Egypt, Executive Regional Director of Carrefour in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Libya Herve Majidier, told Daily News Egypt on Monday. Majidier said the first new branch will be opened in Mansoura governorate, followed by another one in New Cairo. Regarding Ramadan preparations, Majidier said the hypermarket chain started preparing for the holy month two weeks ago. The chain is offering discounts on basic items such as sugar, which is sold at 25% less than normal market prices, rice, sold at 45% less than normal prices, and cooking oil. There are currently 23 Carrefour branches in Egypt, with Majid Al Futtaim, Carrefour's sole franchisee in the Middle East, planning to establish new branches with investments of EGP 5.2bn. This will bring the figure up to 32 branches across the country, including outlets in Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, Tanta, Menufiya and Daqahleya. Building a hypermarket in Egypt will cost at least EGP 100m, subtracting the land price, Majidier told the Daily News Egypt in an interview in 2014. The value of Majid Al Futtaim's already-established projects in Egypt – City Centre Maadi and City Centre Alexandria – is approximately EGP 2.5bn. The company plans to invest EGP 17.9bn in Egypt over the next five years, creating 140,000 direct and indirect job opportunities. This investment includes EGP 4.9bn in the Mall of Egypt project, and EGP 3.2bn in the new City Centre Almaza project. Majid Al Futtaim expects to complete all construction work, with the opening expected to take place during the first quarter of 2016 for its most recent mega project, Mall of Egypt. The retail centre will be built on two floors over 440,000 sqm, with the company investing EGP 250m in building road and bridge solutions. This will enable people's access to the mall, which is expected to create 41,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
