DISPUTE WATCH- Gov’t signs settlement with TMG for 2016 dispute over Four Season San Stefano: Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) and the governorate of Alexandria signed yesterday a settlement agreement over the group's Four Seasons-branded hotel in Alexandria’s San Stefano, according to a cabinet statement. Under the agreement, TMG will pay EGP 7 mn in unspecified fees to the governorate each year, with that amount increasing 12% per annum. The real estate group will also be required to invest EGP 5 mn in “development projects” under its corporate social responsibility umbrella each year.

What was the issue to begin with? Although the statement does not clarify which dispute the agreement is meant to settle, we believe it pertains to a dispute the governorate had with TMG over the lack of an occupants’ union for the hotel and residence complex, claiming that it qualified as a residential building and not a hotel. Under Egypt’s 2008 Building Code, “a building, a development or a gated compound … which consist of 5 units or more are mandatorily required to establish a union for the occupants.” However, the 1973 Hotel and Touristic Facilities Act exempts hotels from the occupant union requirement. In 2018, the Council of State (Maglis El Dawla) ruled that the Four Seasons is a hotel, meaning it is not required to form an occupant union.