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Monday, 11 January 2021

Qatari Diar to resume City Gate project

Qatari Diar will resume work on its CityGate project after getting the green light from the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), seemingly putting an end to a four-year dispute over the developer failing to deliver on construction targets, Al Shorouk reports, citing unnamed sources. East Gate, owner of the development and Qatari Diar subsidiary, had asked for a license to continue working, which the sources said was approved by the authority, without providing further details.

What was the beef about? It’s a long and complicated story that we went into detail here, but the crux of the matter stems from a change East Gate made to the original contract, to which NUCA demanded the Qatari company cough up EGP 1.3 bn to cover the accompanying fees. The Council of State’s administrative court overturned the fine last July.

Coincidence? The decision comes just a few days after Cairo and Doha agreed to end diplomatic hostilities and begin working to restore relations. Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, agreed at last week’s GCC summit to end Qatar’s pariah status in the region and restore trade and travel links after a 3.5-year blockade. On the night that the agreement was inked, Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif and Qatari Diar Chairman Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani flew to Cairo to hold an official opening ceremony for the company’s St Regis Hotel alongside US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

OTHER REAL ESTATE NEWS-

  • The US’ Hill International and Seldar Misr subsidiary Gulf Building and Construction signed a cooperation protocol to manage Al Jazi project in New Cairo — the first residential compound under the Marriott brand, reports Hapi Journal.
  • Marriott International is also looking to add three- and four- star hotels in touristic cities such as Aswan, New Alamein, and the North Coast to its portfolio.

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