Mohammed Rashid — CEO of MRB for mall management and investment projects — said that operating commercial and administrative projects is completely different from residential projects, as commercial projects need strong brands for actual operation and to attract more brands.
“Over the last period, there were consultations and correspondences from a large number of brands to operate projects in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), especially since major brands have different approaches to operation and the availability of certain requirements to start operating,” Rashid added.
He also pointed out that the state’s initiatives to start operating the Government District’s malls will stimulate these brands to participate, and that it is possible that there will be a waiting list for major brands to enter the NAC over the coming year.
The Egyptian government is set to start relocating to the NAC’s Government District this year. The move will mark the beginning of a six-month trial phase of the new premises, which began construction in 2015 under the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
El-Sisi noted that the Government District in the New Capital could provide an environment for the digitisation of the state through data centres and workplaces for 50,000 employees in addition to a secured network.
The Government District consists of 34 buildings and includes 10 complexes, each containing a group of ministries, with some of these complexes designed in the Islamic style, and others in the Egyptian Pharaonic style.
This is in addition to the sovereign character of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Cabinet’s headquarters.
The size of one complex within the Government District spans 170,000 sqm, with a total of 1.5m sqm for the 10 complexes, which is equivalent to 360 feddans out of 40,000 feddans — the total area of the first phase of the NAC.
In this regard, the MRB has submitted documents in the tender put forward by the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) for the management and operation of 12 malls in the Government District for entertainment, commercial, and administrative properties, according to Rashid.
He added that only three companies submitted their offers to this tender, including MRB, revealing that his company has cooperated with nearly 500 brands over more than 20 years in the field of management and operation.
Rashid also revealed that MRB is currently managing and operating more than 35 projects within the NAC with a number of real estate development companies, in addition to managing and operating a number of other projects in New Assiut, New Qena, New Damietta, Port Said, and Menoufiya.
He explained that the MRB aims to expand in foreign markets, especially in Saudi Arabia and a number of Arab countries, in addition to contracting to manage a number of new projects in the Egyptian market.
