The African Export-Import Bank (“Afreximbank”) has broken ground on an office complex set to house an African Trade Centre and its own new headquarters in the diplomatic district of Egypt’s New Capital some 45km east of Cairo.
Contractor Hassan Allam Construction, a subsidiary of Hassan Allam Holding, has won the $249.5m contract to build it. EHAF Consulting Engineers will provide architectural design and project supervision.
The bank said the complex would be three interconnected blocks arranged around a landscaped internal street, with a total built-up area of 156,147 sq m.
Bank president and chairman George Elombi said it would facilitate the bank’s rapid expansion and address a lack of trade and investment information among African businesses, which he said was “a challenge that has confounded the growth of intra-African trade and investment for nearly seven decades”.
The complex will have a trade information centre, a library, an SME incubation centre, a 110-room aparthotel, a 750-seat conference centre and an exhibition centre, plus retail and dinning.
Scheduled for completion in early 2029, it’s designed to achieve Gold LEED certification or higher with smart energy systems, solar power and water-saving systems.
Speaking at the ceremony, Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said: “The establishment of the Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Egypt’s New Capital reflects Egypt’s important role in driving continental economic integration and trade facilitation.”
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