ELGABALY ARCHITECTS for design and engineering consultancy plans to increase the volume of its work in the field of design and engineering consultancy in the Egyptian market during the forthcoming period with the support of the great experience it gained over 26 years, and its designs for pioneering projects in the new urban cities, including the Administrative Capital and El Alamein.
(REALTY CATALOGUE) met with Dr. Tamer El-Gabaly, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ELGABALY ARCHITECTS for Engineering Designs, and Professor of Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, to talk about the projects operated by the Group. As well as its future work plan in light of the urban renaissance that Egypt is currently witnessing across the State, according to the vision and objectives of the New Republic.
Elgabaly Architects and Gebal Consultants operates business that amounts to EGP 12 billion, including EGP 7 billion in the New Administrative Capital.
During the interview, El-Gabaly reviewed the most notable projects implemented by the Group since its inception in 1990s to date, the most notably of which is its implementation of the Tivoli Dome Group in Egypt, the Presidential Palace in El Alamein, in addition to the projects it is currently operating in new urban cities.
1996
At the very outset, El-Gabaly said that “ELGABALY ARCHITECTS” Office was established in 1996, with four persons and was a sole proprietorship, and began its business in the projects of compounds (residential villas) in the cities of 6th of October, El-Obour, El-Shorouk. In addition to the company’s projects regarding residential buildings in high-end neighborhoods, including Nasr City, Sheikh Zayed, Maadi, El-Obour, and New Cairo.
2001
At the beginning of 2001, the Company moved to work in commercial buildings, specifically shopping centers, as the Company designed the Golf City Mall project in Obour City, which is the second branch of Carrefour in Egypt, and it is one of the regional mall designed in Egypt according to the European concept.
El-Gabaly also noted that the Company has implemented a number of other malls, including Florence Mall for Marseilia Investment and Real Estate Development, Porto Cairo Mall project in New Cairo and some projects of City Stars Properties Company.
Furthermore, the establishment of the Future University Project is one of the most notable projects implemented by the Company at the beginning of its work during 2001 and 2002, according to El-Gabaly.
2006
He also mentioned that the Company began expanding in administrative buildings, malls, and educational buildings in early 2006, thanks to the extensive goodwill it had gained for designing a typical building with the latest international trends.
He noted that the main objectives of the “ELGABALY ARCHITECTS” Group is to create new and advanced designs that keep pace with the Egyptian culture, not just for aesthetics and architectural sculpture. Therefore, every 5 years, the Company develops architectural concepts to reach human coexistence that mimics the culture of Egyptian society.
In addition, he said that the Company made a great development in its projects from 2006 to 2011, through its contribution to the establishment of projects in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, including Porto Matrouh project, Porto Sharm project-Sharm El Sheikh. As well as the Porto Dead Sea project in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as well as working with investors in Morocco and Cyprus.
The company has completed 10 educational projects throughout the past 20 years, such as “Malvern College Egypt” and “The Future University in Egypt”. Currently, the company is on its track to complete “Alpha School” in the New Administrative Capital.
2011
El-Gabaly continued that “ELGABALY ARCHITECTS” started from 2011 to 2016, working on projects for the Mimar Misr, buildings in Sheikh Zayed, and implemented the Tivoli Group in 2008, the first of which was the Tivoli Dome Heliopolis project, and it is the first innovative project implemented by the company in the world.
He continued, “The Company began to expand in this project and designed Tivoli in Zayed, Marina, Abu Dhabi and Jordan, and all these projects are small cities with an area starting from 600 square meters to 800 meters, and each project has a new idea and philosophy that mimics human development”.
The company is specialized in a wide range of categories such as Mixed-use, Urban, Retail, Administrative, Educational and Cultural projects. Most recently, the company has designed “Green Waves” on a 200,000 square meter site in Port Said, a mixed-use project which includes Retail and commercial spaces, offices, luxury apartments, medical center, and other facilities.
2016
He also pointed out that the company’s most notable projects, which it started after 2016, is the project to design the Presidential Compound in the city of El Alamein, which includes the Presidential Palace as a first phase, and then the Administrative Compound attached to the Palace. As this will be recorded in history that ELGABALY ARCHITECTS implemented a distinctive architectural value within a short time.
In this context, El-Gabaly paid tribute to the developmental thought that the Egyptian State began to adopt some years ago, saying, “The New Administrative Capital, El Alamein City, Suez Canal, and Al Salam City have put Egypt at the forefront of the most important architectural countries.”
He continued, “Prior to 2016, there was the experience of new cities, including 6th of October City, El-Obour, Al-Shorouk, Badr, and Sheikh Zayed. These cities started in the late 1980s and this process took about 20 years to be implemented.
ELGABALY: we are currently working on 8 projects in the New Administrative Capital, in which 6 of them are located in the financial and business district. Most notably, the new headquarters of Telecom Egypt.
He also noted that the entry of the State as a general developer led to the acceleration of the development process, and made it succeed in implementing giant projects such as the El Alamein Towers, Presidential Compound, the desalination plant, the Latin Quarter in New Alamein. As I expect the city of El Alamein to start the full operation next summer.
He mentioned that ELGABALY Group has (8) projects in the Administrative Capital designed with the latest theories, the most important of which is the Telecom Egypt headquarters project of the Ministry of Communications with a unique architectural style in the Financial and Business District and the building has eco-friendly design.
He said that the company’s investments volume for existing projects in the Administrative Capital including ministries, an educational and cultural complex and schools, starting from 2021 till the present, are estimated at EGP 12 billion, in addition to EGP 2.7 billion investments in Sheikh Zayed City, and EGP 2 billion in Ras Sidr.
He said that the company is currently working on designing a 4-star hotel and a tourist residential compound in New Alamein on an area of 30 acres.
He also noted that the Group is currently implementing the Business City or Business Complex projects with the major companies in the Middle East, i.e., “Smart Way” (an Emirati-Lebanese company), and it carries out an integrated design of the project to all final handover phases.
Elgabaly: We have completed projects all over the Middle East including Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. We are aiming to increase our projects in the Gulf Region by 2023.
In addition, the company is implementing the largest educational project in the Administrative Capital in partnership with international consulting firms offices, on an area of approximately 150 acres on the Suez Road called the Science Park. This project includes a local university and an international university, international schools and a cultural city that includes cultural centers, conference halls, exhibitions, and an opera house, according to El-Gabaly.
He continued, “The Company has implemented, during the past 20 years, 10 projects including international schools located in Nasr City, Heliopolis, Sheikh Zayed, 6th of October, and New Cairo, and we implemented and designed one of the largest international schools in Egypt, which is Malvern International School. Moreover, the Group is working on establishing an international school “Alpha School” on an area of 16,000 square meters.
He also stated that the Group is working on designing two sites for the Ministry of Housing and Construction in New Cairo, one of which is located on an area of 80 acres on the Ring Road, and its design is expected to be completed soon.
In a related context, he pointed out that the company acquired many real estate projects, including a project from the Urban Communities Authority on an area of 40 acres in Sheikh Zayed, in addition to a project in Ras Sudr on an area of 160 acres for the interest of Ghoneim Real Estate Development Company.
El-Gabaly confirmed that the company is currently completing the “Etapa Square” project in Sheikh Zayed City on an area of 60,000 square meters and 140,000 square meters of buildings, for the “City Edge” For Real Estate Development Company, and it is expected to be handed over within the next 3 months.
The company’s extensive expertise in Malls, Administrative and Educational projects gives Elgabaly Architects a competitive edge, diversifying the company’s portfolio and driving its business volume.
