Majid Al Futtaim opens Mall of Egypt

Dubai-based shopping mall developer and retail & leisure operator, Majid Al Futtaim has opened Mall of Egypt in Cairo, its flagship project in North Africa and a key pillar of the company’s AED5.1-billion investment strategy in Egypt.

Built with an investment of AED2.6 billion, Mall of Egypt is expected to attract large crowds eager to be the first to experience Egypt’s premier shopping and entertainment hub.

With the unveiling of the country’s first super-regional mall, Majid Al Futtaim is bringing its world-renowned leisure and entertainment brand portfolio including Ski Egypt, which brings snow for the first time to the city and the African continent; and VOX Cinemas, with a total of 21 theatres housing one 4DX screen, four Gold screens, one MAX screen, two screens for kids and 13 regular screens with a total of 2,473 seats. Customers will also enjoy the latest version of the family entertainment centre, Magic Planet, and Little Explorers.

With a GLA of 1.8 million sqft, Mall of Egypt houses 350 best local and international retailers including an unmatched high-end fashion offering of the world’s most prestigious brands in addition to some of the finest dining outlets. The mall also houses major department stores as well as other fashion, lifestyle, sports, electronics, home furnishing outlets. With direct access to Wahat Road, the mall includes 6,500 car parking spaces.

“Majid Al Futtaim has a long standing presence in Egypt, which started 15 years ago with the introduction of Carrefour, City Centre Maadi and City Centre Alexandria,” says Ghaith Shocair, CEO – shopping malls, Majid Al Futtaim Properties. “In line with our vision of creating great moments for everyone, everyday, today we are proud to open the doors of Mall of Egypt, bringing snow to the city through Ski Egypt as well as featuring an array of exclusive international brands and innovative leisure and entertainment concepts of VOX Cinemas, Magic Planet and Little Explorer introduced for the first time in the Egyptian market.”

“Mall of Egypt, Majid Al Futtaim’s second ‘Mall of’ flagship shopping mall, will set the same precedent as its sister brand, Mall of the Emirates in the UAE bringing unmatched experiences to North Africa. Egypt is an important market for Majid Al Futtaim and launching mega projects like Mall of Egypt re-affirms our strong belief in the vast opportunities available in the Egyptian market,” he adds.

Mall of Egypt is expected to create more than 41,000 direct and indirect job opportunities since commencement of its construction. As part of the company’s commitment to community and infrastructure development, Majid Al Futtaim invested more than AED70 million to develop the surrounding road network over an area of approximately 10km, to provide safe entrances and exits to mall visitor and alleviate the traffic in the neighbourhood.

Further, the mall’s environmentally-friendly design and innovative architectural concepts is an excellent example of Majid Al Futtaim’s leading sustainability model and the good progress the company is making towards fulfilling its objective of setting and meeting international best practice standards. Mall of Egypt is working closely with the relevant local partners to develop, implement and maintain its sustainability strategy, which includes developing environmental data management system in order to effectively measure, monitor and enhance the efficiency achieved in managing energy, water and waste.

In line with Majid Al Futtaim’s best sustainable practices, Mall of Egypt aligned with the respective standards of the Gold Certification in Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. The eco-friendly structure will be similar to other leading destinations in the region such as City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Fujairah and City Centre Beirut. The mall has also considered a wide range of sustainability features to not only reduce its environmental impacts but also appeal to the sustainability sensibilities of a range of stakeholders including tenants that want to operate from a sustainable mall and customers who want to shop in one.

RetailME Bureau