Afreximbank’s new global HQ in Egypt to open in 2029

Work has commenced on African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) new global headquarters in Egypt.

The Exim Bank has awarded a $250 million contract to Cairo-based Hassan Allam Construction to build its Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) in New Administrative Capital.

The headquarters, located in the Diplomatic District of the New Capital, 45 km east of Cairo, is scheduled for completion in early 2029, Afreximbank said in a statement.

Once completed, the AATC in Cairo will offer 57,298 sq m of office space for Afreximbank’s growing workforce. Additional office space will be available for African and international agencies involved in trade, finance, and investment, as well as for foreign African diplomatic missions.

The complex will host a trade information centre, a library and knowledge hub, an innovation and SME incubation centre to support entrepreneurship, a business centre, a 110-room aparthotel, a 750-seater conference centre, an exhibition centre, retail and dining outlets, and a 1,200-bay parking facility.

Afreximbank has disbursed $41 billion into the Egyptian economy to date, supporting increased investment in sectors such as energy, telecommunications, construction, and manufacturing, said Afreximbank’s president and chairman George Elombi.

In 2021 Egypt joined its largest free trade agreement yet, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which gives access to a market of 1.5 billion people. The Egyptian government has set a target for such trade to roughly double to $15 billion by year-end.