A busy year lies ahead for Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate as its Festival City projects in Cairo and Dubai draw ever-nearer to completion. Philip Evans, Director – Commercial & Retail Leasing, talks about the group’s success and its plans for future growth.
For Dubai-based Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate, 2009 was a busy year – particularly for its Cairo Festival City project which saw the commencement of construction on several aspects of the development, as well as the launch of both the Oriana villas and Festival Centre. “In June, we won the Future Project Award at the Global RLI Awards 2009 in London for the Festival Centre, which was a good endorsement of our retail project and things have progressed well from there,” says Director – Commercial & Retail Leasing, Philip Evans.
Construction of the Oriana villas, which will make up part of the residential area, along with a selection of apartments, started in the last quarter of 2009; the leasing of the Festival Centre was also launched in Cairo in early November and again at MAPIC in the same month. The group signed with a number of big name retail brands, including IKEA, White House, Etam Lingerie, Plug Ins Electronix, Toys R Us, Carrefour, as well as the entertainment provider Renaissance Cinemas.
The group currently has two flagship mixed-use urban communities under its Festival City brand: Dubai Festival City (5.2 million square metres) and Cairo Festival City (three million square metres).
Dubai Festival City was designed to capture the ground breaking 21st century spirit of Dubai, and was the first fully-integrated mega project to be progressively delivered in the UAE. Encompassing the finest shopping, dining, entertainment, homes, schools, offices and leisure, Dubai Festival City is formed into three distinct districts connected by a 30km internal road network and creek side promenade.
There is currently further development underway on the residential area of Al Badia for Phase 3, commercial offices as well as another event area within Al Badia Golf Club (managed by InterContinental Hotels Group), as well as ongoing infrastructure works around the property. Al-Futtaim is scheduled to commence work on a new retail park this year.
In Egypt, Cairo Festival City covers a land area of three million square metres. Strategically located along the Cairo Ring Road on the western edge of New Cairo City, it is just 15 minutes from Cairo International Airport and will bring together residential, retail, and business elements all under one roof. The development includes luxury Mediterranean-style villas, a retail resort with over 300 shops and services, over 100 restaurants and cafes, a 17-screen multiplex cinema, premium office space, serviced apartments, premium hotels, an automotive park, and a school.
For the full article, please see the May 2010 issue.
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