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Entertainment oasis coming to Sahara

By Albert Warson

A 2.3 million-square-foot shopping center in the Sahara desert less than two miles from the Great Pyramids of Giza? Is this a transplanted power center? A Disney-like theme park right near Cairo?

At $100 million-plus, Dreamland will be one of the Middle East's costliest shopping centers.

No, it's none of the above. And it's not a mirage, either. It's Dreamland, one of the most ambitious and, at $100 million-plus, one of the largest and most costly shopping center/entertainment/resort complexes in the Middle East.

It's nothing to sniff at by North American standards, either -- given that it will one day rival the 5.2 million-square-foot West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. Dreamland is expected to total more than 5 million square feet upon completion, according to project designer Toronto-based Forrec Ltd., the firm that also designed the second phase of the Edmonton mall in the early 1980s.

The complex will consist of the following:

* The first phase -- three-quarters of the 102-acre, 3.2-million-square-foot theme park, including amusement park rides and 82,000 square feet of food and retail space -- opened Jan. 15; timing of the second phase will be determined by visitor response. (Cairo's population is more than 15 million and growing.)

* The first, 500,000-square-foot phase of a shopping center, to be located directly in front of the theme park and connected to it by a walkway lined with retail shops, is under construction and set to open by 2001. It will include retail tenants, office space and two hotels; a multiscreen cinema (including a 3-D theater) and an ice-skating rink; a second phase, comprised of 1.8 million square feet, will include more shopping and a food bazaar. A 250,000-square-foot home-center type superstore selling appliances and other big-ticket items also is under construction.

* More than 3,000 parking spaces will be built to accommodate visitors.

John M. Ciocci, a senior designer with Forrec Ltd., and a project manager for Dreamland, said the complex has an extensive irrigation system fed by the Nile River. To create a natural infrastructure for the development, 1,000 mature palm trees were planted in the area in front of the theme park. Also built was an 18-hole golf course.

A mountain and waterfall, with a small lake at its base; fountains; trees; flowering plants and shrubs; formal gardens; and large expanses of grass were fundamental in creating an oasis in a desert setting, Ciocci said. "We also used bright colors to relieve the stark dullness of the surrounding desert," he added.

Forrec, which got its start as a landscape architecture firm in 1964, did similar work for Edmonton, designing 400,000 square feet of that mall's second phase, including a lake, mini-golf course, and a waterpark. The firm has also done work for Wonderland, near Toronto, as well as Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. In addition to its work on North American amusement parks, Forrec has done work for clients in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin America. Those projects have included casinos, urban and retail entertainment centers, themed attractions, water parks, resorts and lifestyle communities.

The theme park, shopping center and power center are the centerpiece of a 5,000-acre residential/retail project called 6th of October City, named in honor of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated on that day in 1991. High-rise condominiums, townhouses, an equestrian center, hotels and conference center are under construction.

The developer and owner of the project is Ahmed Bahgat Fatouh, a Cairo-based industrialist and engineer who was a close personal friend of Sadat's. Fatouh is chairman of the manufacturing firm The Bahgat Group, which is financing the project.

Dreamland may be the biggest entertainment/shopping/resort complex in town, but it won't be the only one in Cairo. There are already three theme parks, all within a 10-mile radius of Dreamland. One is just half a mile away, and is similar to a Universal or MGM studio, featuring rides, film sets and film studios. It is about the same size that Dreamland will be. The other two theme parks are much smaller than Dreamland.

Dreamland, unlike its competitors next door, will have a North American feel to it, according to Ciocci, who said his firm had initially suggested ancient Egyptian archeological themes, but Fatouh preferred a North American style. "He wanted something completely different, something that would raise the level and quality of entertainment venues, particularly for families, for whom there is little entertainment in Cairo," Ciocci said, referring to the North American style of the park. Dreamland's design incorporates antiquity with a bit of current showbiz, Forrec Chairman Steven M. Moorhead noted.

"We designed one theme area more as an ancient wonders of the world attraction, and not specifically Egyptian. The rest was influenced by the kinds of Hollywood television programs and movies that most of the world watches and understands."

Given the extreme heat of its desert location, the site is heavily landscaped, with many shaded areas. The only source of water is from the Nile; there is no other source of irrigation. "There is nothing else like it in Egypt," said Moorhead.

An estimated 4 million people will visit Dreamland every year, he said, adding some 18,000 people came through the gates on opening day. A municipal bus line and a four-lane highway connects downtown Cairo, about five miles away, with the development.

Ciocci said tenants in the first phase of the shopping resort center will include "high-end boutique" international fashion retailers. Leases had not yet been signed at press time.

Restaurant and retail tenants in the first phase of the theme park are mainly locally based. One food tenant, The Mountaintop Cafe, is a "five-star" restaurant on top of a man-made, 90-foot high "mountain" and waterfall. It offers a spectacular view of the three Giza Pyramids, which are about about two miles away, as well as the entire complex, according to Ciocci.

A colorful children's playground, go-cart track and adult "thrill" ride areas, outdoor cafes, plazas, "main street'' leading to the entrance with stores on both sides, and the eclectic, North American-influenced architecture heighten the sense of destination.

Restaurants in the theme park and ultimately in the shopping resort center will serve fast-food style North American and European, Asian and Egyptian dishes. Merchandise in the theme park resembles the Disneyland type of souvenir clothing, mementos and toys that promote the park.

The next phase of Dreamland's theme park will involve more high-tech thrill rides and attractions, more covered rides and water rides to keep people out of the desert heat, more night-time entertainment and an indoor live theater.

"Our client was concerned about how visitors would react to the few North American thrill rides we introduced, but they are popular, so we're going to add more of them," Ciocci said.