Al Baraka Bank to develop new HQ in Egypt’s new capital: official

Al Baraka Bank Egypt, part of Bahraini Islamic lender Al Baraka Group, plans to build a new headquarters in Egypt’s anticipated administrative capital, an official said Wednesday.

The new headquarters will reflect Al Baraka Group’s confidence in the Egyptian market, chief executive Ashraf El-Ghamrawy told Amwal Al Ghad.

The group will inaugurate a new head office in New Cairo district within days, El-Ghamrawy said.

“We are planning to boost our geographical presence across Egypt, to have a total network of branches up to 50 in 2020,” the banking official said.

Egypt’s ambitious plan to construct a new metropolis 45 km (28 miles) east of Cairo was announced in March 2015 at a Sharm al-Sheikh summit held to lure back foreign investors who fled after the 2011 revolt. The project, under construction, is one of several announced by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to develop the economy and create jobs for a growing population of 91 million.

Being built to escape Cairo’s overcrowding and pollution, the new administrative capital was initially expected to cost $300bn and feature an airport larger than London’s Heathrow and a building taller than Paris’s Eiffel Tower.