The founder of “Emaar Properties”, Mohamed Alabbar, said in an interview with “Al Arabiya” that the company aims to reach 3 thousand hotel rooms in Egypt at a time when the percentage of Gulf tourism to the northern coast has increased to 55% of the total this year.
Al-Abbar pointed to Emaar’s interest in investing in vacant government buildings in Egypt, stressing that an official request was submitted to restructure government buildings in Cairo.
He continued, “We have a desire to invest in the development of government buildings in downtown Cairo, whether through “Emaar” or “Eagle Hills,” and we have officially submitted a request to the Egyptian government to work, whether for restoration or construction.
“The northern coast of Egypt has achieved growth rates in the past years that have exceeded our optimistic outlook, and there is a need to support the infrastructure for the entertainment sector, hotels and restaurants with the increase in the number of visitors and arrivals,” according to Alabbar.
He continued, “Egypt has about 200,000 hotel rooms, like the UAE, while Turkey has about 1.5 million rooms, so Egypt should have about 2 million hotel rooms, and the government has a tendency to do so with the support of the increase in arrivals.”
With regard to the economic conditions in Egypt, Alabbar said that the current time is the best for investing in Egypt, saying: “The current economic conditions will end.”
Alabbar confirmed that the company has plans to increase real estate investments in Saudi Arabia during the coming period.
He pointed to the great growth in the Kingdom that supports the economy in the entire Arab region, explaining: “Emaar’s business is positively affected by the stimulus plans and the great economic momentum in Saudi Arabia.”
Alabbar said that Emaar’s business in Saudi Arabia represents about 10% of the group’s business.
He explained that most of the group’s investments are concentrated in Dubai, and there are also Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey and Egypt.
