Orascom Construction PLC (OC) is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. The company was Egypt's first

multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

and stands at the core of the Orascom Group companies. OC is active in more than 25 countries.

History

OC was established in

in 1950 and owned by

Onsi Sawiris Onsi Sawiris (also written Sawires; ar, أنسى ساويرس; ) (August 14, 1930 – June 29, 2021) was an Egyptian businessman. He was the patriarchal head of the Sawiris family and founder of the Orascom Group conglomerate. Early life Sa ...

. It owned and operated

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

plants in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, which had a combined annual production capacity of 21 million tonnes. In December 2007, OC announced the divestment of its cement group, Orascom Building Materials Holding (OBMH), the holding company for its cement group assets, to the French

Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...

. In July 2011, Orascom Construction won a $450 million bid in Saudi Arabia. In September 2012, Orascom Construction expanded in the US by building a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Iowa and buying out

The Weitz Company ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. In 2013,

Cascade Investment Cascade Investment, L.L.C. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. It is controlled by Bill Gates, and managed by Michael Larson. More than half of Gates's fortune is held ...

invested $1 billion in Orascom Construction. Following this investment, a

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

-based company, OCI NV, was created, and became the parent company of Orascom Construction. In March 2015, Orascom Construction shares started trading at the

Dubai Financial Market The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) ( ar, سوق دبي المالي) is a stock exchange located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was founded on 26 March 2000. Overview , there are 67 companies listed on DFM. Most of them are UAE-based companie ...

and Cairo's

Egyptian Exchange The Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Egypt's stock exchange, comprises two exchanges, Cairo and Alexandria, both governed by the same board of directors and sharing the same trading, clearing and settlement systems. Presently, the chairman of the Egyptian ...

. In July 2018, Orascom Construction partnered with

Engie Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. ...

to build the largest windfarm in Egypt. In May 2019, the consortium Bombardier Inc., Orascom Construction and

Arab Contractors The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

won the contract to build two monorail lines in Cairo.

Sanctions

In 2013, Orascom Group agreed to pay up to $1 billion in tax fines to the Egyptian tax collector following irregularities in the 2007 sale to

References

{{reflist

External links

Orascom Construction website
Construction and civil engineering companies of Egypt Orascom Group Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1950 Companies based in Cairo Egyptian companies established in 1950 Companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange

History

Sanctions

See also

References

External links