El Gouna will see USD 100 mn in fresh investment in the next two years, b’naire Samih Sawiris and former chairman of the resort town’s developer, Orascom Development Holding (ODH), is quoted as telling Asharq Business. The money will go towards building a new hotel and expanding existing hotels in the popular upscale Red Sea holiday destination, he said.

REMEMBER- Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) in February inked an agreement with Egyptian authorities to more than double the size of El Gouna, adding 1.2 mn sqm of connected lagoons and 1k hotel rooms every 10 years. ODE at the time said it would fund the growth from its own EGP 3.8 bn in cash on hand, a USD 30 mn shareholder loan from parent company ODH, and future cashflows.

Sawiris is partnering with private investors in the KSA to build a resort similar to El Gouna in the Kingdom, Sawiris said. The Saudi resort will see initial investments of at least USD 500 mn, he added.

Sawiris is planning several other projects, he told Asharq:

  • A project to revive an ancient heritage site in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, over the next five years;
  • A USD 100 mn redevelopment of an an existing resort on Oman’s Al Sawda island in partnership with the Oman Investment Authority;
  • A USD 200 mn new hotel in Switzerland, with construction planned to break ground early next year.

If that wasn’t enough: In March, Sawiris said he is leading the redevelopment of the Mogador resort in Morocco’s Essaouira, in a drive worth as much as AED 4 bn. Sawiris will lead a consortium of four investors, making his investments through SOSTNT, his Luxembourg-based investment company.

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