Fairmont Nile City, Cairo, Egypt

The Fairmont Nile City Cairo will be one of the newest and most luxurious hotels in Cairo when it opens in September 2007. The five-star hotel will open as part of the Nile City office and retail development, which has been underway since 2001. The hotel will be superbly situated for the business traveller and tourist on a prime site overlooking the river Nile and just 30 minutes from the Sphinx and great Pyramids at Giza.

The hotel will occupy the newly constructed third tower of the Nile City complex. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts (FHR) have entered into a joint venture with the Nile City Investments Company (NCIC) to outfit and manage the 552 room luxury hotel. FHR and the Kingdom Hotel Investment Group (KHI) have each invested approximately $10m for an interest of 15% each in the property. The hotel development has cost an estimated US$80m to construct.

William R. Fatt, Chief Executive Officer of FHR, commented: "Cairo is one of the most important commercial and tourism centres in the region, and we are delighted to expand our portfolio to include a luxury property here. This new property and our strategic partnerships on the project will assist us in continuing to build on the success of The Fairmont Dubai and grow Fairmont's brand strength across the region."

THE NILE CITY COMPLEX

The hotel will be situated in the Nile City complex third tower. The complex, which also includes the 34-storey north and south towers, contains 100,000m² of office space and 11,000m² of retail space. A central sky-lit podium rises from the ground level to the third floor and joins the two towers. Upon entering, guests will see a bright, naturally lit, spacious atrium with decorative fountains in the centre. There are two glass panoramic elevators and also two pairs of escalators and open staircases to circulate guests efficiently throughout the shopping mall.

There are two main entrances and a car drop off area adjacent to the underground parking with five elevators leading to the ground floor of the podium. There is a cineplex on the ground floor with eight movie theatres; their entrances and a foyer are grouped beside the fountain of the atrium. The projection rooms for the eight cinemas are located at mezzanine level. The retail area also has several high quality restaurants.

From the Nile Corniche the retail complex is accessible through two street level entrances at each end of the pedestrian gallery. The third entrance is incorporated in the north facade of the podium. In front of the Nile Corniche entrance there are two car drop-off areas. The commercial areas of the complex house a selection of speciality shops and restaurants.

HOTEL

The Fairmont Cairo will include four restaurants, four bars and lounges, a business centre, meeting space and access to retail and office space in the rest of the complex. Prime space on the rooftop of the 24th floor overlooking the Nile and the Pyramids will include one of the restaurants, an outdoor swimming pool, a hot tub and outdoor function space. The hotel will have 552 luxury rooms on 25 floors with a total floor space of 54,834m².

The Nile City Fairmont has been designed with a distinctive shape, allowing guests to have sweeping views of the Nile. The ground floor will have a dedicated entrance for large tour groups with customary hotel facilities including a reception desk, luggage area, seating area, small gift shops and luxury concessions. The first floor will have an impressive double-height main lobby for business travellers and individual guests, accessible by two vehicle ramps and staircases.

The second floor will have a business centre, meeting rooms of different sizes, a 480 person ballroom and a hotel administration office. The third floor will have restaurants, private dining areas, lounges, and two outdoor terraces. The 25 floor tower will provide an incomparable view of Cairo and the Nile with an interior architecture that reflects the building's combination of luxury and tranquillity.

CONSTRUCTION AND CONTRACTORS

The architects for the complex, including the hotel tower, were Atelier d’Art Urbain Architects. Orascom Construction Industries was the main general construction contractor. Besix of Belgium was also responsible for the construction work of the complex. PERI GmbH Formwork and Scaffolding was responsible for the concrete formwork and scaffolding on the buildings. Alico Egypt fabricated and supplied the majority of the architectural aluminium and glass for the complex buildings.

The two main towers, which were completed in 2001 and 2002 respectively, make full use of the entire range of Schuco systems curtain walling and facade products. The project included FW 50 structural glazed curtain walls, as well as skylights with aluminum cladding panels integrated within the curtain walls and skylights giving the towers a unique shape. Works also included full use of Alico's systems for doors and windows in addition to heavy duty revolving doors for the podium main entrance.

PARKING

The basement of the complex including the hotel contains four floors of parking totalling 1,200 car parking places, and some technical rooms. The South Tower apartments have a private parking area on basement level minus one. The hotel operators also have a dedicated parking area on this level. Restricted areas of the basement -1 to -3 will be designated for hotel use only. The rest of the available parking area of the basement levels -1 to -3 and the whole of level -4 will be shared by the offices and the shopping mall tenants.

These different parking areas can be physically separated from each other to ensure maximum privacy and safety. The parking for South Tower apartments and offices is accessible from the Nile Corniche by one ramp with in and out lanes. The parking for the North Tower Offices, hotel and public use is accessible from the Nile Corniche by another ramp with in and out lanes, and from the back by two in and out ramps.

For the internal circulation between different floors there are two bi-directional ramps, one on either side of the parking area. From the parking levels, the ground floor of the complex is accessible by lifts and stairs. Different lifts, or banks of lifts, give access to the different parts of the complex.