Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb issued a decision on Monday to allow leading UAE retail firm, Majid Al Futtaim, to establish an investment area near the Maadi Ring Road.

The Prime Minister’s decision now obliges the company to conclude the project in the scheduled time.

Majid Al Futtaim’s five-year plan for Egypt has included investing EGP 3.9bn in the expansion of the City Centre Maadi. This project will start during the second or third quarter of 2015, and is expected to take three years to complete.

The company plans to invest EGP 17.9bn in Egypt over the next five years, creating 140,000 direct and indirect job opportunities. This investment includes EGP 4.9bn in the Mall of Egypt project, and EGP 3.2bn in the new City Centre Almaza project.

Majid Al Futtaim expects to complete all construction work, with the opening expected to take place during the first quarter of 2016 for its most recent mega project, Mall of Egypt. The retail centre will be built on two floors over 440,000 sqm, with the company investing EGP 250m in building road and bridge solutions. This will enable people’s access to the mall, which is expected to create 41,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.

Regarding Carrefour branches, there are currently 23 branches in Egypt, with Majid Al Futtaim planning to establish new branches using EGP 5.2bn. This will bring the figure up to 32 branches across the country, including outlets in Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, Tanta, Menufiya and Daqahleya.

The value of Majid Al Futtaim’s already-established projects – City Centre Maadi and City Centre Alexandria – is approximately EGP 2.5bn.

During the Sharm El-Sheikh Economic Summit held in March, Majid Al-Futtaim CEO Alain Bejjani announced the increase of their total investments in Egypt to EGP 22.5bn, up from the previously announced EGP 18bn.

Bejjani signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian government, where EGP 4bn in investments was allocated to develop four neighbourhood centres in the new residential cities in Cairo, as well as the development of four new shopping malls in greater Cairo.

Majid Al Futtaim will also pump EGP 500m into the establishment of Egypt’s first local VOX cinemas over the next five years, replicating the example in the UAE.