Qatari Diar to resume Egypt CityGate project after a four-year pause

CAIRO: Nearly a week after the Gulf reconciliation with Qatar, the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) agreed work could resume on the CityGate project in New Cairo, owned by the Qatari real estate company Qatari Diar, after a four-year pause.

According to Egyptian newspaper Al-Shorouk, the company has obtained approval from the authority to work on the CityGate project, which has been suspended since 2016 due to a dispute between it and NUCA.

East Gate, owner of the development and a Qatari Diar subsidiary, has had its request for a license to resume working on the project approved by the authority, following a court ruling that NUCA was not entitled to ask for fees of EGP 1.379 billion ($88.11 million).

The Qatari company is currently communicating with local contractors in preparation for the resumption of construction work.

Officials said “the first phase of the project will encompass investments worth EGP 1 billion.”

Qatari Diar owns several projects in Egypt, most notably in New Cairo, the resort of Sharm El-Sheikh and in Hurghada.

The Qatari finance minister visited Cairo last Tuesday to participate in the inauguration of the St. Regis Hotels on the Nile Corniche, which has investments of $1.3 billion, and is also owned by Qatari Diar.

According to local media, the construction work of the project amounted to $520 million.

Egypt is a signatory of the AlUla Summit agreement on the statement of Arab reconciliation, and the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that this “comes within the framework of Egypt’s keenness on solidarity between the Arab Quartet countries.”