Lebanon-based Solidere is set to launch two grand projects -Westown along the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, and Eastown in the Kattameya area of New Cairo - in collaboration with Sodic, a fastest growing rest estate developer in Egypt.

Solidere is a provider of comprehensive services in the areas of urban planning, development, property management, finance and marketing.

The announcement comes as part of Solidere’s continuous activities in the field of real estate development in the Arab world, mainly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with planned projects in North Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean region.

Sodic said it has secured the Egyptian government’s approval on the masterplan put in place by Solidere International for each of the two projects.

Sodic had hired the services of the international consulting firm “Dar Al-Handasah Shair and Partners” to provide the infrastructure design of which the preliminary stages have been completed with actual work scheduled to start in the beginning of 2010.

Both the projects will have distinguished and lively multi-faceted city centers, providing residential areas, office and commercial space, as well as shopping and entertainment centers.

The projects are also adorned with public spaces and landscaped parks in accordance to the latest sustainable urban planning practices and environmental standards Solidere International is keen on implementing, said the duo in statement.

'The masterplan will also provide for a modern city fabric with avenues and squares surrounding buildings in a synchronised manner. This will effectively place Westown and Eastown as the hub of activity for all the residential projects and educational centers which have started to relocate to the Sheikh Zayed and Kattameya regions,' the officials said.

The two companies had earlier announced the launch of their first two Westown projects to be developed in the Sheikh Zayed neighbourhood along the Cairo-Alexandria desert road.

“Forty West”, a mixed use facility, and “The Polygon”, a business center, form the first phase of the Westown development project. “Forty West” includes 175 upscale residential apartments, a luxury hotel, a series of distinguished restaurants and cafes as well as retail shops and entertainment and cultural centers.

It provides the perfect environment for a chic social lifestyle amid green spaces which will turn it into a unique destination in Egypt as it combines the liveliness of the city and the calm of a residential neighborhood.

Solidere and Sodic said the duo will also ensure that their standards of excellence carry on to the maintenance of the buildings and gardens in Forty West as well as its security needs by providing it with their own top notch property management services.

Renowned architects “Machado and Silvetti Associates” will design the Forty West, which meets the highest creative and precision standards in the industry going hand in hand with the distinctive touch of Egyptian interior designers “Eklego”, they said.

The project provides residents with an atmosphere of leisure and comfort through facilities and services that allow for the enjoyment of the luster of Mediterranean city life, putting Westown on par with famed upscale neighborhoods in Barcelona, Rome, and Beirut, the duo added.

“The Polygon’s” design will be handled by award winning British firm “Wilkinson Eyre Architects”. The business center will include offices of different sizes and versatile layouts customized to meet the needs of a twenty first century work space.-TradeArabia News Service