Egyptian billionaire to develop large city in Iraq

The Egyptian businessman, Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of Orascom Investment Holding (OIH), said that one of his companies, Ora Developers, is negotiating with Iraqi governmental agencies to build an entire city outside Baghdad with very huge investments.

Sawiris remarks took place during a press conference to announce the delivery of the first phase of the ZED Sheikh Zayed project, one of Ora Developers projects in Egypt.

The Egyptian businessman mentioned that work is currently underway to determine the size of the new city on an area of 55 million square meters.

Following a meeting last July with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Sawiris confirmed his intention to launch a major project in the Iraqi real estate sector.

The project represents the return of the Egyptian billionaire to the Iraqi market, where he previously invested in the telecommunications sector nearly 20 years ago.

Investing in real estate development in Iraq is considered the first experience for the Egyptian businessman, but he previously invested in the Iraqi telecommunications sector in 2003.

In January 2023, Sawiris met with the chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC), Haider Makiya, in Baghdad, where they discussed investment opportunities in the real estate sector, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The two gentlemen talked about building large cities for both high- and low-income individuals outside the Iraqi capital.

The OIH is also considering other projects that would serve the large cities it is intending to build to tackle the congestion in Baghdad.