Orientals for Urban Development (OUD), a subsidiary of Oriental Weavers Group, targets EGP 4bn sales of its projects during the year, according to Mohamed Farid Khamis, OUD's managing owner, told Daily News Egypt. Khamis said the company's sales in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 exceeded EGP 1bn. The company aims in the current year to beat its 2017 and 2018 sales, which seems achievable according to the sales made in the past months, he added, noting that OUD's sales often exceed targets by roughly 50%. The company's latest project is Orientals Industrial City (OIC), the largest integrated industrial city in Ain Sokhna. Khamis revealed they have collected more than EGP 1.5bn in down-payment so far, which reflects the success of the project. The OIC will be built on an area of 10.5m sqm at a cost of EGP 13bn. The new industrial city comprises 1,012 industrial units and would be developed and managed by the company's subsidiary Orientals for Industrial Development and would cater to both small and medium enterprises and heavy industries. Khamis said the company aims to deliver the first phase of the OIC after providing utilities, which would be completed by the end of the year, adding that it is planned to attract about 18 industries initially. Moreover, Khamis noted that the OIC includes plants with spaces ranging between 600-500,000 sqm, adding that the project is being developed over five phases within six years. In addition, the city would include administrative and residential units, as well as a 4-star hotel. Khamis disclosed that the delivery of the OIC's first phase is scheduled to begin within nine months. Orientals for Industrial Development will be responsible for developing the project's infrastructure. The OUD will handle the marketing, designing, and implementing the residential and administrative areas of the project, he elaborated. Regarding the OUD's residential projects, Khamis said sales in the J'noub project in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) exceeded EGP 1bn. The J'noub was built on an area of 50 feddan in R7 in the NAC and includes 1,862 units of various sizes, as well as different services and entertainment areas. The project's investments reached EGP 3.9bn. The project is distinguished by its massive green space as the company plans to develop only 23 buildings in the project. For coastal projects, the company received three offers from major investors to obtain the Arena Hotel inside the Oriental Coast resort in Marsa Alam. The Oriental Coast was built on an area of 1,200 feddan (5.5m sqm) in the Red Sea, 30 km north of Marsa Alam Airport. The project includes eight international hotels with a total capacity of 3,700 rooms and major leisure projects, including international water parks, a world championship golf course, and an international yacht marina. Additionally, the company has completed the La Playa Alamein hotel in the North Coast in Marina 5. The hotel includes 128 rooms divided into six buildings, each building consisting of 11 rooms, except the main building, which includes 62 rooms. All rooms have a sea view and include five restaurants with sea fronts and two swimming pools, health club, spa, and other activities, such as water games and yachts. Moreover, the hotel is equipped to receive various nationalities from Egypt, the Gulf, and foreign countries, notably Italy. The resort is ready to host parties and business meetings. Khamis stressed that the company adopted a new selling and marketing plan during the current year, which started with television advertisements during Ramadan and will vary in summer to include several channels, namely real estate exhibitions. The company also opened new branches in Giza and New Cairo. He explained that the company is offering a variety of projects in exhibitions and is participating with the largest real estate portfolio that combines residential, coastal, hotel, and industrial projects in various areas in Egypt. Established in 1994, OUD is a joint-stock company affiliated to Oriental Weavers Group. It capitalises on the real estate boom in Egypt. The company has since blossomed into one of Egypt's largest real estate and urban development companies with investments in excess of $3.1bn.
