EGYPT – Tatweer Misr, real estate developer, has announced the signing of three final contracts worth EGP 3.2 billion (US$203.92m) with three educational entities.
The new contractual agreements included an international branch campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), two King’s College schools, and a Narmer American College, all of which are located at the company’s educational zone at Bloomfields.
Bloomfields is a mixed-use project located in Mostakbal City, and spans over an area of 415 feddan, and has been designed to become the first college in the Middle East.
The project, which has seen total investments of EGP 23 billion (US$1.47bn), includes a residential, commercial, and administrative area, which consists of 10,700 units.
Whilst Bloomfields covering 325 feddans, the remaining 90 acres have been allocated as an educational zone with total investments of EGP 10 billion (US$0.64bn) over 10 years. The educational zone shall host GEN@Bloomfields, the first entrepreneurial hub in Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa.
“The NJIT is very much looking forward to finalizing our agreement with Tatweer Misr and receiving the Presidential Decree in order to open our campus in Egypt,” NJIT President Joel Bloom said.
“This has been a concerted effort by all parties to achieve this significant outcome, and we at the NJIT believe this partnership has multiple benefits for both countries, our home state of New Jersey in the US, and certainly for the students of Egypt and the US.
“We currently have many students of Egyptian heritage on our Newark, NJ campus as well as successful Egyptian alumni.”
Additionally, a partnership has been announced with the Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB) and Collier International to create due diligence on the educational zone.
This aims to also attract more educational entities and investment funds with interest in education to launch at the educational zone. This comes in line with Tatweer Misr’s optimistic plan to support the Egyptian Government in enhancing the educational ecosystem by the year 2030 and attract investors in diversified sectors.
“We are proud to enhance the educational ecosystem in Egypt through the educational zone at Bloomfields,” Ahmed Shalaby, President and CEO of Tatweer Misr said.
“Education and entrepreneurship have always been integral to our strategy, and we are looking forward to raising the leaders of the future who will push Egypt to development and prosperity.”
“The educational zone is only catering to residents of Bloomfields, and it shall host international branch universities and schools that would develop the educational system in Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa.”
The signed contracts worth EGP 3.2 billion (US$0.2m) are the first phase of investments in the educational zone which is scheduled to start its first operations by the end of 2023 along with some residential units, Shalaby noted.
“Educational links between Britain and Egypt are booming at all levels, with the strong support of both governments,” Britain’s Ambassador to Egypt Sir Geoffrey Adams said.
“It is great news that King’s College Cairo will soon be offering quality British education to thousands of talented young Egyptians.”
From her part, Nicole Shampaine, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Cairo said, “This educational initiative will give Egyptian students access to an American education, enabling them to compete for high-skill jobs and help Egypt develop its knowledge-based economy.”
Shampaine noted that it builds on four decades of investment by the US Government in strengthening education in Egypt, including building more than 2,000 schools. This includes training over 100,000 teachers, providing more than US$350 million in scholarships and academic exchanges, and supporting university linkages, she said.
