Ajlan & Bros eyes an initial investment of USD 1.5 bn in Ras Gamila project: Saudi Arabia’s Ajlan & Bros Holding has filed an offer to the Madbouly government to secure a land plot at Sharm El Sheikh’s Ras Gamila for the establishment of ten hotels with 3k keys in the first phase of a bigger development plan, Asharq Business reports, citing an anonymous source it says is familiar with the matter. The first phase will see Ajlan commit USD 1.5 bn for the development of the hotels, excluding the price of the plot.

What’s next? The holding company is reportedly in negotiations with the Egyptian government for other undisclosed projects and wants to ink all of the contracts at the same time after they wrap up negotiations.

But the government says it’s not ready to study any offers just yet: The government will not study any offers for the land ahead of the appointment of an international advisor, Public Enterprise Ministry spokesperson Mansour Abdelghany told Ahram Online.

Remember: Rumors that Egyptian and Saudi authorities were in talks over the developmentrights of Ras Gamila circulated last month around the same time that the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement was unveiled. The Madbouly government set up a ministerial committee in March to select a consultant to manage, evaluate, and market the Ras Gamila development project, a government source told Enterprise at the time. The project was initially expected to have a sale value for the development rights of USD 2-3 bn, the source said.

Ajlan & Bros is also interested in Egypt’s privatization program: The group has submittedoffers to acquire stakes at multiple companies offered in the state privatization program, the source told Asharq. Negotiations for the companies are set to be completed within six months, they added.

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