Al Futtaim eyes Morocco venture

Dubai: Al Futtaim Capital, part of Dubai-based conglomerate Al Futtaim Group, on Sunday said it will develop a large multi-billion dollar master-planned community in Morocco that will house 40,000 residents.

"Al Futtaim Capital is in the final stages of acquiring a seven million square metre plot of land in Bouznika, Morocco, to develop a master-planned community encompassing a mix of residential, retail and leisure facilities," the company said in a statement.

Once the master plan is finalised, the Dubai-based conglomerate will seek the relevant government approvals before officially launching the project next year, it said.

The project is located half way between the capital Rabat and Casablanca, the country's business hub, with a 5.5km frontage on the busiest highway of the country that connects the two cities.

Marwan Shehadeh, managing director of Al Futtaim Capital, told Gulf News his company will finalise the master-planning of the multi-billion dollar project later this year.

"We have more or less identified the master planner. We will decide on the master-planner soon," he told Gulf News.

On the value of the project, he said, "It is difficult to put a value on the project. But we are talking about a few billions of dollars."

This is the company's first major foray into the North African country. It is currently developing Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City under the 'Festival City' concept.

However, Al Futtaim Capital is not the first Dubai-based company to develop projects in Morocco.

Dubai's Emaar Properties and Sama Dubai signed up a number of mixed-use projects worth $20 billion (Dh73 billion) in Morocco in March 2006.

This will be the second investment forming part of Al Futtaim MENA Real Estate Development Fund and will include some of the elements found within the highly acclaimed Festival City concept.

Omar A. Al Futtaim, Chief Executive Officer, Al Futtaim, said: "By expanding into Morocco, we have a great opportunity to grow despite the slowdown in the global economy. There is strength, diversity and depth in the Moroccan economy and we see many good reasons to be confident about our investment. This acquisition gives us a foothold in Morocco that we intend to build on.

"Morocco is on track to achieve a GDP growth rate above 5 per cent for 2009, one of the highest in the world, which is a testament to the country's strong leadership and fundamentals."

According to the ministry of housing, Morocco currently has an under supply of homes of more than one million and each year over 100,000 new families enter the market.