CAIRO  - Dubai-based Al-Futtaim real estate expects to invest 30 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.7 billion) by 2023 in Cairo Festival City, a mall in Egypt, almost double it had initially planned, its managing director said on Tuesday.

A third of the investments will come from loans while the rest will be funded by the company, Ashraf Ezzeldin said at a news conference.

The company had initially planned to invest between 15-17 billion pounds in the project.

Al-Futtaim has so far invested 12 billion pounds in the project, 60 percent of which has been completed.

The company is expecting sales this year to reach 4.5 billion pounds compared with 2.9 billion pounds the previous year.

It plans to launch four projects this year, worth 7.5 billion pounds and expects sales to reach 15 billion pounds, Ezzeldin said. The four projects will be completed within three years, Ezzeldin added.

($1 = 17.6330 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Ehab Farouk writing by Arwa Gaballa editing by Louise Heavens) ((arwa.gaballa@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2578 3290;))