Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
The National Bank of Egypt, the country’s largest state-owned lender by assets, is arranging a $120 million syndicated loan to finance the redevelopment of Cairo’s historic Shepheard Hotel, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The loan will be extended to Al Sharif Company for Hotels and Tourism, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Al Sharif Holding Group, one of the sources said. The Arab African International Bank and The United Bank are participating in the financing alongside the National Bank of Egypt.
According to the second source, the facility falls under a government-backed initiative to support investment in the hospitality sector through subsidised interest rates. The funding will be directed toward finishing and interior works at the hotel, which is scheduled to open in July 2027.
Once redevelopment is complete, the landmark property will be operated by luxury hospitality group Mandarin Oriental and will feature approximately 269 rooms. The project is part of Egypt’s broader push to expand high-end hotel capacity amid growing tourism demand.
Shepheard Hotel is regarded as one of Egypt’s most storied hotels. Originally located in the Azbakeya district, it was destroyed during the Cairo Fire of 1952. In 1957, the government decided to rebuild the hotel at a new site in Garden City overlooking the Nile. The state-owned Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels closed the property permanently in 2013 before offering it to private investors.
Al Sharif Group won the redevelopment tender in 2020 and, in 2021, secured a loan of nearly 978 million Egyptian pounds from the National Bank of Egypt to begin renovation work. Under the current agreement, the Saudi investor will operate the hotel for 35 years, receiving 69 percent of net operating profits for the first 10 years, before its share declines to 60 percent for the remainder of the contract.
The financing aligns with government efforts to attract private and foreign investment into the tourism sector, which officials see as a cornerstone of economic growth and foreign currency inflows in the coming years.
