Egypt s Orascom Construction Industries said on Wednesday its joint venture with Al-Futtaim Carillion had secured a $340 million deal to build a retail center in Cairo. OCI s share of the contract is 35 percent or approximately $120 million. The project was awarded by the commercial and administrative arm of the Al-Futtaim Group, OCI said in a statement. The retail centre in Cairo Festival City will be made up of 400 shopping units with room for a hypermarket, cinema complex, restaurants and a water amusement park, the company said. OCI said the joint venture had received a letter of intent for the project, which is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2012 with a total built-up area of 425,000 square meters. OCI chief executive Nassef Sawiris told Reuters in March the firm expected a rise of between 20 and 30 percent in construction revenue in 2009. The company has said it would concentrate on fertilizers after selling its cement unit to French company LaFarge last year. It has fertilizer operations in Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria. -Reuters
