Orascom Hotels and Development – a sister company to the Egyptian firm that recently received $110 million in state tax incentives to build a fertilizer plant in southeast Iowa – was featured in Sunday's New York Times for its construction of a $1.92 billion exclusive Swiss resort for the world's wealthiest jet set.
Orascom Hotels and Development, part of Orascom Group, is building the five-star resort at Andermatt, Switzerland, and the first of five hotels will have a 4,500-square-foot penthouse that will rent for $43,000 a night, according to the Times article. Prices for villas in the development start at $1 million for a studio or one-bedroom of about 732 square feet, the Times reported.
The Orascom development company also plans to spend $138 million to upgrade the ski runs at the resort, according to the Times article.
Orascom Group, based in Cairo, Egypt, includes Orascom Construction Industries, Orascom Hotels and Development, Orascom Telecom Holdings, Orascom TV (OTV), Orascom Technology Solutions and Djezz GSM (Algeria's principal mobile network company). The Orascom Group and its companies are controlled by the Sawiris family. Nassef Sawiris is the CEO of Orascom Construction Industries, which is building the $1.4 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant in Iowa. His brother Samih heads Orascom Hotels and Development.
