Etisalat to spend EGP8 billion on Egyptian unit over next three years

UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has revealed that it is to invest around EGP8 billion (USD1.4 billion) in its Egyptian subsidiary in the three years to 2013, Reuters reports. Commenting on the plans Etisalat chairman Mohammad Omran said: ‘Our investment in the network has reached EGP8 billion [to] date, and we expect that we will invest EGP8 billion more in the coming three years as networks expansion is a priority for the company.’ In addition, Omran said that the growth in Etisalat Misr’s had ‘exceeded all expectations in terms of subscription rates and what was targeted in the bid conditions and feasibility studies in terms of network coverage’ since launch in May 2007. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, at end-March 2010 Etisalat Misr had just under ten million wireless customers, up 33.3% year-on-year from 7.5 million a year earlier.