Manotick, ON -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/10/2011 -- Ottawa-based developer GCN Canada, Inc. has announced that it has signed a US$850 Million financing agreement with the Egyptian finance company Hiram Estates Investments of Nasr City, Cairo (http://www.hei-eg.com/). The funding is to be used to construct the Emerald Coast Plaza Resort Hotel, which is a principal feature of the initial phase of its multi-billion dollar Emerald Coast Financial & Tourism Free Zone Project on the coast of Cameroon (see http://www.gcncanada.com for project details).

The Emerald Coast Plaza Resort Hotel will be a 30-storey luxury hotel and condominium combo featuring a 250-room 5-star hotel in its lower 10 stories and 200 luxury condominiums in the top 20 floors, built above a grand duty-free shopping mall and entertainment center and casino, overlooking the development's 2 km-long private beach. It will be the central focus of a larger complex with a boardwalk, fine dining restaurants, a business and financial center, and a full service deep water marina, and forms an integral part of the core Emerald Coast Development. Later Phases will see the construction of luxury villas and time-share chalets, a golf course, an arts and entertainment center with live theatre and movieplex, a convention center, an artificial island with additional luxury accommodations, and more. The financial and off-shore banking activities that will be the main engine of the Emerald Coast Development will be initially housed in the hotel/mall until the separate financial district is completed sometime in Years 3-4 of construction.

Mr. Emad Mahgoub, Chairman of Hiram Estates Investments, has had extensive experience with banks and finance institutions in the Middle East, and has worked with Al Mashriq Bank, BNP Paribas, Al Watany Bank of Egypt, and National Societe General Bank.

Recent finance projects undertaken by Hiram Estates Investments include a US$500 Million biomass plant project in Brazil for the SWISS Group of Sao Paolo, and a US$300 Million real estate project in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for CONEL CAPITAL Pte. Ltd. of Singapore.

Despite the current political unrest in Egypt, Mr. Maghoub is confident that this will not affect his firm's ability to realize the financing for GCN Canada Inc. as the banks he will be dealing with are in Qatar and Bahrain. The terms of the financing agreement grant Hiram Estates Investments the exclusive rights to funding this particular aspect of the Project, and do not limit GCN Canada Inc. from accessing financing for other Phases from additional lenders.

Mr. Maghoub is confident that financing arrangements will be concluded within 3 months, and the financing terms he will secure for the hotel will be very reasonable and well within acceptable banking convention. H.E. Robert Sabga, President and CEO of GCN Canada Inc., has expressed his delight at the signing of the agreement, and is looking forward to breaking ground on this key initial aspect of the Project:

"We are very pleased to be working with Mr. Maghoub in this venture. He comes highly recommended by CONEL's CEO Mr. Young Cheon Kim, and also by Mr. Edda Silvestro, President of the Swiss Group out of Brazil. I have no doubt that through his extensive banking connections we will very soon realize the funding required to start this phase of construction. We are excited, and we know that all of Cameroon will be elated to learn that the Emerald Coast Project is now well on its way to starting operations."

Financing for other phases is being negotiated with companies in the UK, USA, and Hong Kong, and are in different stages of completion. Enquiries on the Emerald Coast Project may be made to GCN Canada Inc.'s Monty Elsabbagh at pr@gcncanada.com, and/or by visiting the company's website http://www.gcncanada.com.

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Manotick, ON -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/30/2010 -- After four and a half years spent in design and development, Africa will soon boast the first combined financial and tourism free zone ever developed on that continent.

The project, known as the EMERALD COAST FINANCIAL AND TOURISM FREE ZONE PROJECT, will be built in the Republic of Cameroon in its designated Strategic Economic Development Zone on the coast near the port city of Limbe.

The project is a joint-venture between Ottawa-based consortium GCN Canada Inc. (GCN-C), and Bonanza Estates SA (BE SA) of Limbe. The Project was conceptualized and designed by GCN-C, and utilizes the Free Zone License granted to BE SA for the development of a jointly-owned 311-hectare parcel of land with almost 2 km of private beach located some 20 km north of Limbe.

Full build-out of the Project is estimated to cost some US$ 3.5 Billion, and will take 7-8 years to complete. During and after its construction, the Project is expected to create employment for up to 10,000 people directly and indirectly as a result of its development. Understandably, its start-up is being keenly anticipated by the Government of Cameroon, as its impact on employment and general development in the area, and the draw it will create for additional investment in the country is expected to be enormous.

President and CEO of GCN-C, His Excellency Robert Sabga, says "The Emerald Coast Project is going to fundamentally alter the way the rest of the world looks at Africa, and is going to meaningfully impact for the better on the lives and welfare of thousands of people. It is going to change lives, it is going to change Cameroon, and it is going to change the continent of Africa as never before."

In planning and conceptualizing the Project, HE Sabga assembled a global team of professionals drawn from four continents, all proven experts in their respective fields. GCN-C's professional lineup includes some impressive members: a former Rear Admiral, a retired Air Force Captain, a Sheikh, a retired senior banker, an African Prince, and another former Ambassador (HE Sabga is himself a former Ambassador, having served as the High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago to Canada). The architectural firm selected to design the Project is Sadek Architects SRL of Dubai, famous for the 'sea urchin' design for the King's Park Stadium in Durban S.A., designed for the 2010 World Cup Games, and for a host of resort and hotel designs throughout the Middle East, Europe and North America.

The Emerald Coast Project will feature a host of amenities that will position it as unique in both concept and function. It will operate as a financial free zone, offering full off-shore banking and wealth management services. It will feature an ultra-secure underground vault complex built into a mountainside for the safe-keeping of hard assets such as bullion and other valuables. It will offer 3- 4- and 5-star hotels and villas, a private marina, boardwalk with restaurants and duty free shopping, a world-class golf course, a casino complex, and a private airport and marina, to name a few of its numerous features.

GCN-C is now ready to break ground on the Project, and is currently seeking interested Investors and potential JV partners.

To learn more about the Emerald Coast Free Zone Project, visit http://www.gcncanada.com

Contact:
Monty Elsabbagh – Director of Marketing
pr@gcncanada.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm