Egypt’s TMG to invest $21 billion into tourism project
While the Egyptian economy has struggled in recent years, The Talaat Moustafa Group plans to salvage Egypt’s tourism sector to help boost foreign currency into the country, reports the Arab Weekly, plus agencies.
Egypt’s Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) is set to invest $21 billion into the SouthMED tourism development, which spans 23 million square metres of land on the Mediterranean coast, TMG’s executive said on the 2nd of July.
The project is a “fully integrated development” that includes luxury villas on white sand beaches, exclusive golf courses, restaurants and shops as well as other facilities.
In recent weeks, SouthMED has been heavily advertised throughout Egypt, featuring Sylvester Stallone in one of their commercials as a wealthy foreigner being persuaded to buy a villa.
Initial bookings for purchases at the development reached about 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.25 billion) in 12 hours of pre-launch sales, TMG said in a disclosure to the Egyptian stock exchange.
When completed, it is expected to generate sales of around $35 billion, CEO Hisham Talaat Moustafa said.
Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly stated that the project showed Egypt’s confidence in local investment after the influx of foreign investment in the Ras El Hekma deal, at a press conference on July 2nd.
“We as a country are determined to attract investments, whether local or foreign,” he said.
“These projects would attract millions of tourists. More importantly, they create job opportunities to attract Egyptian youth to settle” (on the north coast), he added.
Until now, Egypt’s north coast and its white sand beaches have mainly been a destination for affluent Egyptians who stay in villas and hotels there during the hottest months of the year.
The government is now promoting it as an international destination and has built a new city with glass-fronted tower blocks at El Alamein, about 100 km west of Alexandria.
SouthMED is located on the coast close to Dabaa, where a nuclear power plant is under construction by Russia’s Rosatom, and El Alamein international airport. It is about 55 km east of Ras El Hekma.
READ: Egypt and Russia finalise Dabaa nuclear power deal
The announcement comes after Egypt received a windfall of investment and financing earlier this year which eased a shortage of foreign currency that had crippled the economy.
Separately, Egypt expanded its programme with the International Monetary Fund to $8 billion and received billions in pledged money from the European Union and the World Bank.
READ: Egypt to receive fast EU financial aid
Neither Talaat Moustafa nor Madbouly gave details on from where the funds for SouthMED would come, referring only to TMG’s “local investment,” and they took no questions.
The Arab Weekly/agencies.
