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Cairo Festival City Highlights Egypt as Newest Retailing Destination

Egypt's first indoor-outdoor retail experience is showcased at MAPIC 2009
Cannes, November 18^th, 2009 - During MAPIC, Al Futtaim Group Real Estate will showcase their innovative design of their Cairo Festival Centre, part of Cairo Festival City, highlighting the future vision of Egyptian retail. An annual event, MAPIC is one of the largest international retail exhibitions, and brings together retailers, investors and exhibitors from around the world. This year MAPIC will be held from the 18^th to the 20^th of November, with visitor numbers expected to exceed last year's 10,000.

"MAPIC is a key opportunity not just for Cairo Festival City, but for the entire Egyptian retail industry. The latter has one of the fastest paced growth markets in the region, previously it was a country that was regularly overlooked by retailers but is now one of the top 5 retailing destinations in the world. There are so many opportunities still available in Egypt, and the very fact that the countries retail industry has continued to flourish in spite of the economic crisis, is a testament to the strength of this market." said Philip Evans, Director of Commercial & Retail Leasing for Al Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) .

Strategically located in New Cairo, just fifteen minutes from the international airport, Cairo Festival City's mixed-use community development, will offer Egypt's first indoor outdoor retail experience, through Festival Centre which totals 160,000 square metres of gross leasable area. The shopping centre will offer over 300 shops and services, more than 95 restaurants and cafes, as well as a 17 screen cinema complex, hypermarket and 17 anchor stores with parking for over 7,000 cars. The outdoor area, Festival Village, will bring together entertainment, boutique retail and restaurants, nightlife and cafes set amongst lushly landscaped greenery and water features.

Offering 3 distinct areas that cover fashion, lifestyle and entertainment, and with an estimated foot fall of 750,000 per week, Festival Centre is 40% pre-leased and has signed with big name international retailers including Carrefour, Etam, Calvin Klein, Toys R US, Intersport and local Egyptian retailers, White House and Renaissance Cinemas. Projected to open in early 2012, Festival Centre plans to substantially develop the growth potential of Egypt's retail industry by employing over 5,000 people upon opening in a development that offers a retail mix which will consistently exceed consumer demands.

Festival Centre's strong retail mix will be supported by international Real Estate Consultants, Cushman and Wakefield. As the world's leading retail real estate consultant, Cushman and Wakefield have over 750 professional consultants spanning over 58 countries across the globe. With such an extensive retail network Cushman and Wakefield has an almost unrivalled position in the retail market, a factor that is a strong indicator of the success Festival Centre is expected to enjoy, upon opening.

Projections for Festival Centre's success are further bolstered by government information and consumer research that suggests that Festival Centre can expect to cash in on projected retail expenditure of $8.9 billion USD that consumers living within 30 minutes drive of the development will be spending by 2011. In just 9 years, by 2020, this figure is expected to reach $18 billion USD, suggesting Festival Centre can expect a very bright and successful future. This area is also forecast to grow in population by an average rate of 2% per annum over the next decade leading to an estimated 7.1 million residents by 2020. With the gap between demand and supply still largely unmet, Festival Centre will address some of the many needs that consumers are now rightly demanding.

-Ends-

About Cairo Festival City:
Spanning 3 million square metres Cairo Festival City is a visionary mixed use urban community strategically located just 15 minutes from Cairo International Airport. Cairo Festival City features Cairo's first indoor-outdoor retail and entertainment resort combined with luxury residential communities, prime office spaces, internationally renowned hotels, schools and an automotive park all set within a lush landscaped environment.

For more information:
TRACCS Egypt
Abeer El Areeny
Tel: (+202) 33046860
Fax: (+202) 33031219
Email: abeer.elareeny@traccs.net

Cairo Festival City
Marwa Mokhtar
Marketing Manager
Tel: (+202) 26186000
Fax: (+202) 26186060
Email: Marwa.Mokhtar@alfuttaim.ae
Website: www.festivalcitycairo.com

© Press Release 2009