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Gulf consortium backs out of plan to redevelop NDP HQ: A consortium of the UAE’s Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC) Group and Saudi Egyptian Developers (SED) has backed out of an agreement to work on the USD 5 bn redevelopment of the former National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in central Cairo due to increased construction costs following the EGP float, Asharq Business reports, citing an anonymous official within the consortium.
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The why: The consortium’s share in its partnership with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt — which was tied to land and building prices — was altered following the currency's depreciation and the resulting surge in raw material and energy prices.
But this may not be goodbye forever: The two companies could still end up developing the project if their shares in the project are adjusted, the source from the consortium added to the outlet.
The project in question: The redevelopment plan came with a price tag of USD 5 bn to be invested in a 7-star, 220-meter high hotel, residential buildings, and a multi-storey garage with capacity of up to 6k cars, local media previously quoted SFE tourism sub-fund chair Elhamy El Zayat as saying. The project was said to take some six years to complete and could break ground later this year, he added. The project comes as part of a wider plan to redevelop old buildings in central Cairo and make the area more attractive for investment.
Remember: It first came to light that the consortium had been selected to work on the project back in September 2023. Cabinet in March gave Nilus Hotel and Commercial Services and Nilus Residential Services the greenlight to build two commercial and residential towers on the National Democratic Party’s former headquarters after transferring the 16.6k sqm land plot from the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) tourism sub-fund to the two companies in August 2023. The two towers were given the completion date of 2Q 2028.
