Hill, Egypt's Talaat Moustafa agree joint venture

CAIRO, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Hill International Inc (HIL.N) and Egyptian developer Talaat Moustafa Group (TMGH.CA) said on Monday they had formed a joint venture for construction projects in the Middle East.

Hill International will manage Talaat Moustafa projects including luxury hotels in Egypt and housing developments in Saudi Arabia, the two companies said.

Each company will own half of the joint venture, to be based in Cairo, the firms said in a statement.

Talaat Moustafa, which sold shares in an initial public offering last year, is building a Four Seasons hotel in the southern town of Luxor and expanding another in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. It is also building a housing development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 5,000 residences for an anticipated 22,500 people.

Gulf Arab real estate companies, including Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) and Damac Holding, are investing billions of dollars in Egyptian real estate as the economy of the most populous Arab country expands.

Egypt's economy grew 7.1 percent in the last fiscal year, its fastest in at least two decades, helped by petrodollar investments from the Gulf. (Writing by Will Rasmussen; Editing by Stephen Weeks)