62 | SAMIH SAWIRIS THE LAST WORD WORDS | John Howell
Time for action
Samih Sawiris is a modest but powerful man. A champion of the Egyptian people. He is developing in places as different as Egypt, Switzerland and Montenegro, so he is also clearly a man who enjoys a challenge!
I
fi rst met Samih Sawiris only a short time ago, after he had been interviewed by Russell Kett (Chairman of the London offi ce of the specialist valuers HVS) at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin. Russell Kett has been at the centre of the hotel industry for at least 30 years and his incisive and knowledgable questions made me want
“Between them, father and sons have built up one of the world’s leading conglomerates”
to fi nd out more: to fi ll in the gaps about this fascinating man. They also saved me a lot of time, as I have been able to incorporate some of them – and Samih Sawiris’ answers – in this article. Samih Sawiris was born in Egypt in 1957 – though he seems a lot younger than that. He has an interesting background. During Egypt’s Nasser
years, his father, Onsi Sawiris, had a successful business, which was then nationalised (basically, taken by the government without compensation). Afterwards, he was fi rst detained and then went into exile. It was during this period that his three sons, Naguib, Samih & Nassef completed their international education. Samih ultimately graduated as an engineer from the Technische Universität Berlin, one of the largest and most prestigious research and education institutions in Germany.
That education, and their family culture, has served the family well. Between them, father and sons have built up one of the world’s leading commercial conglomerates, producing everything from fertiliser to fi zzy drinks and building everything from hotels to residential and tourist developments. In their spare time they also run one of the planet’s biggest mobiles phone companies, Orascom Telecom. Samih Sawiris runs the hotel and development part of this conglomerate: hence his interest to us.
Samih Sawiris is Chairman and CEO of both Orascom Hotels & Development SAE and its parent company, Orascom Development Holding AG. He can be contacted by email at:
media@orascomdh.com
Orascom Development Holding AG, listed on the Swiss stock market, and its subsidiary Orascom Hotels and Development SAE, based in Cairo, (Egypt) make up one of the world’s largest developers. Its portfolio includes general real estate, hotels, marinas, golf courses, shopping centres and restaurants. As if this wasn’t enough, they also engage in the construction of municipal utilities, power grids, water treatment plants, roads, schools, and hospitals.
So Samih Sawiris is a very busy man. As with so many very busy and
truly powerful men, he is also – based on our short conversation – charming and extremely courteous. Samih Sawiris’ approach to developing is different. Bigger. Broader in vision. More complex than a mere resort. Over the course of 20 years or more, Orascom Development has established itself as a developer of fully integrated towns: towns with a full range of leisure and social facilities, including golf courses and marinas, as well as all the necessary supporting infrastructure, from schools to sewerage.
www.opp-connect.com | APRIL 2013
Contrasts |Diff erent styles, same builder – Orascom faces challenges in each of the markets they work in but have, so far, overcome them to stunning fi nal eff ects
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