By Andualem Sisay Gessesse / Djibouti – Salaam Real Estate, one of the subsidiaries of Salaam Group that involves Salaam African Bank, is set to transform the city of Djibouti by building over 7,000 houses in the coming seven years.
“We have secured 2.4 million square meters of land to start the construction of 7,000 apartments with shopping malls, schools and all the necessary facilities,” said Mustafa Suldan, General Manager of Salaam Real Estate. In an exclusive interview with New Business Ethiopia journalist on the sidelines of Djibouti Forum in Djibouti this week, Mr. Mustafa Suldan indicated that the company is building a new city within Djibouti city.
The houses will be built around Nagad area, at the outskirt of Djibouti City. Some 2,000 employees are expected to participate daily for the first five years during the construction of the new city by SALAAM Real Estate.
As part of its vision 2035, the Government of Djibouti has embarked on transforming its economy from port service dependent to the development of selected major strategic sectors mainly – tourism, finance, telecom and information communications. The Government of Djibouti has set ambitious targets that involves attracting about half a million tourists every year by developing its tourist destinations and attracting domestic and foreign investments; and becoming global financial and logistics hub within about a decade like Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mauritius.
Djibouti’s ‘vision 2035’ is taken as feasible and realistic by both institutional and private investors from across the world, which attended the inaugural Djibouti Forum held on Monday and Tuesday this week. This mainly because Djibouti managed to maintain the stability of its politics and economy mainly its currency stability, and took advantage of its strategic geopolitical location stay peaceful and stable in a turbulent Red Sea and East Africa neighborhood.
The new mega project of Salaam Real Estate also aims to meet the growing demand for affordable housing in Djibouti over the coming years, and the flow of tourists to the country, which is envisioned to reach half a million per annum by 2035.
The inaugural Djibouti Forum, which is concluded on Wednesday, brought together nearly 400 delegates, including international institutional investors collectively overseeing a staggering $2.5 trillion in assets.
Describing the forum as a “resounding success”, Dr. Slim Feriani, CEO of Fonds Souverain de Djibouti (Djibouti’s sovereign wealth fund), noted that it was evident that there “is great and growing interest in Djibouti.”
During the closing ceremony of the two-day event, Feriani signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamini Insurance, part of the influential Salaam Group, a leading financial conglomerate in Djibouti.
EDITOR’S NOTE: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INVESTMENT AND WORK WITH SALAAM REAL ESTATE, YOU CAN CHECK THE FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW LATER ON NEW BUSINESS ETHIOPIA CHANNEL: