Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate aims to complete the marketing of its three residential projects in the Cairo Festival City (CFC), New Cairo, during the Cityscape Egypt exhibition, held between 27 – 30 March, according to the group's Managing Director Ashraf Ezz El-Din. Ezz El-Din told Daily News Egypt that these projects include Podium and AURA projects–residential buildings offering apartments with spaces ranging from 120 to 300 sqm–and Oriana 4, which comprises of villas with spaces starting from 250 sqm. He added it is planned to begin the delivery of the administrative and residential parts of the CFC project during this year. The administrative buildings of the project were built on an area of 60 sq km, including about 400 units and 150 villas, he further added. The company also plans to add a new space of 25 sq km to the Cairo Festival City Mall by next year, which will include new brands integrating with existing brands. Ezz El-Din stressed that the rapid development of commercial centres and mixed-use projects, along with the region's trend toward entertainment, drives his company to create new operating mechanisms for its project expansions. Moreover, it is set to begin the implementation of the hotel area in the CFC by 2021, which includes two hotels, one is a 4-star and comprises of 250 rooms, and the other is a 5-star hotel with 450 rooms, but the managing brand was not chosen so far, Ezz El-Din said, noting that one brand will manage both hotels. The company aims to achieve a 25% sales growth this year, compared to last year, when the sales to non-Egyptians in the project reached about 7%. The company plans to increase this share during the coming period, he added. "The development of the entire CFC project is planned to be completed by 2023, with the hotel area being the last part of the project," he noted. "It is possible to obtain bank financing in the final phases of the project." The CFC spans over 700 feddan and includes a commercial [retail] area of approximately 168 sq km and a residential area of about 1,100 sq km. Regarding expansion plans of the company in the local market, Ezz El-Din stressed that so far, the company did not find an innovative opportunity, and it is focused on completing the implementation of the CFC project on time, without specifying the next step. He stressed the growth of demand in Egypt's real estate market, which is still the main engine of the local market and its survival regardless of the challenges. In addition, the development in the real estate market–namely, the large offerings for lands in terms of regions and the different offering systems and spaces–reflect the size of current progress in Egypt. The state's efforts in dealing with one of the most prominent problems facing real estate investors over the past decades, the suitable land shortage, is one of the most important elements to augment more investments in the sector. Egypt's real estate market is far from a bubble due to the fact that it is a genuine market depending on authentic purchase and not deferred acquisition, and actual housing unit prices not imaginary prices, he noted, explaining that all of these characteristics maintain the survival and continuation of that market. However, the market currently needs more innovation and diversity in its products and projects, he highlighted, stressing that no market depends on a specific residential segment.
