• Afreximbank awards $250 million Egypt headquarters contract to Hassan Allam

• Complex in New Administrative Capital to house global HQ, hotel, trade facilities

• Project due 2029, part of pan-African trade centres expansion

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 said on Sunday.

The project will serve as Afreximbank’s global headquarters and will include a real estate complex comprising a 110-room hotel, six fully equipped residential villas, and a range of technical and support facilities.

These facilities will include a trade information centre, a library and knowledge centre, and a corporate museum dedicated to Afreximbank. The site will also host a small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovation and incubation centre, a business centre, a 750-seat conference centre, an exhibition hall, 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 oversee the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works, landscaping, and the supply and installation of furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E). The complex is designed as an environmentally sustainable project.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday in the diplomatic quarter of the New Administrative Capital, located 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. It forms part of Afreximbank’s strategy to develop 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). The centres will provide trade information, market intelligence, financing, and networking opportunities, alongside support infrastructure aimed at boosting trade, strengthening economic cooperation and accelerating growth across Africa.

African trade centres offer a practical response to the lack of market intelligence on Africa, which remains a major barrier to trade promotion, Elombi said in the statement.

Founded in 1993, Afreximbank finances and promotes intra-African and extra-African trade by providing funding to public institutions, private and institutional investors, and foreign companies operating on the continent. As of end-December 2024, the bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at about $40.1 billion, with shareholders’ equity of $7.2 billion.

Walid Kéfi