Egypt’s second-richest man, Nassef Sawiris, is preparing a bold expansion into the U.S. market, with plans to invest as much as $50 billion in infrastructure projects over the coming decade.
Sawiris, worth $9.66 billion according to Bloomberg, is restructuring his business empire to seize opportunities in sectors such as data centers, energy, and transport. The move involves merging his fertilizer and chemicals company, OCI Global, with Orascom Construction, the family-owned firm that has been central to his wealth.
The merged entity, set to list publicly in Abu Dhabi, will channel both its own capital and partner funds into U.S. infrastructure through equity and credit investments. Sawiris told the Financial Times that the strategy was designed to “focus the next stage of our business on the area we see the biggest opportunity, which is infrastructure.”
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Restructuring for Global Expansion
Over the last two years, OCI has divested more than $11.6 billion in assets, including the $2 billion sale of its international methanol business to Methanex. Earlier disposals involved two fertilizer holdings, each sold for $3.6 billion to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and U.S.-based Koch Industries.
The consolidation marks the culmination of a strategic review launched in 2023, following pressure from activist investors to unlock shareholder value. OCI and Orascom together have historically delivered strong returns, generating $22 billion in dividends and a 39% internal rate of return since Orascom’s 1999 listing.
Abu Dhabi and Beyond
Sawiris, who recently relocated to Abu Dhabi and Italy after leaving the UK, has been repositioning his NNS Group holding company within Abu Dhabi’s Global Market, citing more favorable tax and regulatory conditions. The group is targeting selective acquisitions across Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
With Wall Street giants such as BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Brookfield Asset Management already active in the U.S. infrastructure boom, Sawiris’s entry signals a new phase of competition.
“Any day, these companies will be more successful than a bunch of bankers who do desktop analysis of an asset and then struggle to create the most value,” he quipped, underscoring his confidence in Orascom’s construction expertise.
If successful, the $50 billion expansion would not only mark one of the largest pushes by an African billionaire into the U.S. but also reshape the footprint of Egypt’s most influential business dynasty.
Source: Accra Street Journal
Last Updated on March 9, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu
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Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.
