The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has awarded a $250 million contract to Hassan Allam Construction to build its African Association of Trade Centres (AATC) complex in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, the bank announced on Sunday.
The project will serve as Afreximbank’s global headquarters and will feature a real estate complex that includes a 110-room hotel, six fully equipped residential villas, and a variety of technical and support facilities, as seen on Ecofin Agency.
These facilities will encompass a trade information centre, a library and knowledge centre, and a corporate museum dedicated to Afreximbank.
Additionally, the site will host a small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovation and incubation centre, a business centre, a 750-seat conference hall, an exhibition space, retail outlets, restaurants, boutiques, and a parking facility with capacity for 1,200 vehicles.
Hassan Allam Construction, a subsidiary of Hassan Allam Holding, will also handle the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) works, landscaping, and the supply and installation of furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E).
The complex has been designed with environmental sustainability in mind.
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A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Saturday in the diplomatic quarter of the New Administrative Capital, about 45 kilometres east of Cairo.
The event was attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Afreximbank President George Elombi. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2029.
This initiative forms part of Afreximbank’s strategy to establish a network of trade centres in key commercial hubs across Africa and the Caribbean.
Planned locations include Abuja (Nigeria), Harare (Zimbabwe), Kampala (Uganda), Cairo (Egypt), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Yaoundé (Cameroon), Bridgetown (Barbados), Kigali (Rwanda), and Tunis (Tunisia).
These centres will provide trade information, market intelligence, financing, and networking opportunities, along with supporting infrastructure to promote trade, strengthen economic cooperation, and accelerate growth across the continent.
African trade centres aim to address a major barrier to trade: the lack of market intelligence on the continent, Elombi said in a statement.
Founded in 1993, Afreximbank finances and promotes both intra-African and extra-African trade by providing funding to public institutions, private and institutional investors, and foreign companies operating in Africa.
As of the end of December 2024, the bank’s total assets and guarantees amounted to approximately $40.1 billion, with shareholders’ equity of $7.2 billion.
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