Ahmed Bahgat, business tycoon who launched Egypt’s 1st private satellite TV station, dies at 70

Cairo: Leading Egyptian businessman and industrialist Ahmed Bahgat has died after a long fight against unspecified illness, his family said. He passed away while he was on a medical trip in the US, the family added. He was 70.

Bahgat’s family said he was closely attached to his homeland where he focused his investment to “serve the nation and its people”.

As a real estate developer, Bahgat is credited with building the first gated community in Egypt, named Dreamland in the suburban October 6 city near Cairo.

Dream park

A founder of the famous Bahgat Group, he set up electronics factories for manufacturing household appliances and launched a major theme park, Dream park.

He was also the owner of Dream TV, the first private television satellite station launched in Egypt in 2001.

Having studied telecommunication engineering at Cairo University, Bahgat travelled to the US for further studies in the field. Dream TV credited him with inventing electronic compasses to specify prayer timings while he was in the US.