Subway on track to double Egypt stores in 2011

US fast food chain Subway said Wednesday it is on track to double its outlets in Egypt this year under a plan to operate 90 locations in the Arab state by 2017.

The sandwich chain plans to grow its outlets in Egypt from four to eight in 2011, despite the impact of a popular uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power in February.

The unrest has crippled the economy of the Arab world’s most populous state, hurting crucial revenue from tourism and industrial output.

Subway, which has more than 250 restaurants across the Arab world, said in March it would double the number of stores it had in the UAE over the next five years.

The company plans to operate 130 outlets in the Gulf Arab state by the year-end, said Marwan Al Hamar, president of UAE operations.

Established in 1965 in Connecticut, US, Subway now has more than 34,000 outlets in nearly 100 countries around the world.

As well as 106 shops in the UAE, Subway also operates 44 restaurants in Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait, 17 in Qatar, 11 in Jordan and Bahrain, nine in Oman and five in Lebanon.