A consortium of the UAE-based Al Shafar Group and the Saudi Egyptian Developers (SED) has withdrawn from the development project of the former National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in Cairo due to high construction costs, an official told Asharq Business.

The recent depreciation of the Egyptian pound has led to an increase in construction costs, prompting the Gulf consortium to refrain from undertaking the project in partnership with The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), the source said.

He said that after the EGP depreciation and the subsequent spike in raw materials and energy prices, the partnership’s determined percentages, which were tied to the assessment of land versus building prices, changed.

In September 2023, it was reported that SED and (ASGC) were close to revamping the NDP headquarters in collaboration with TSFE to be repurposed into a hotel with an investment of up to $5 billion within five years.