Tourism Marriott to convert Cairo’s Mogamma building into hotel By Edmund Bower February 5, 2025, 4:40 PM Alamy via Reuters The Mogamma was opened in 1951 on the site of former British barracks on Tahrir Square in the centre of Cairo Former government office Egypt is selling state assets Hotel will have 500 rooms Marriott International has agreed with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt to convert Al Mogamma Al Tahrir – a Cairo landmark and former government office – into a hotel as Egypt sells off state assets to raise funds. The 500-room hotel development is led by a group that includes Chicago-based property manager Oxford Capital Group, US investor Global Ventures Group, Abu Dhabi’s Al Otaiba Investments and Egyptian investment advisery Zoser Capital Partners. The Mogamma, which translates as “the complex”, was opened in 1951 on the site of former British barracks on Tahrir Square in central Cairo. It was the setting of the 1992 black comedy film Al Irhab wal Kabab (Terrorism and Kebab) in which actor Adel Imam inadvertently leads a group of disgruntled citizens and civil servants in hijacking the building. John Rutledge, Oxford Capital’s CEO, said in a press release that it was looking forward “to advancing this iconic project in the historic city of Cairo” with hotel chain Marriott. Egypt’s tourism revenue tops $15bn in 2024 Infrastructure needed to support Egypt’s tourism ambitions Plan announced to build six new hotels in Egypt The hotel, to be called Cairo House, will join Marriott’s Autograph Collection of about 300 sites. It will have a rooftop swimming pool and views of the Nile and the Giza pyramids in the distance, according to the press release. Reports about the private sector taking over the building go back more than a decade. In 2020, the government announced it was transferring ownership of the Mogamma to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt as part of a drive to sell off state assets, encourage private investment and raise funds for development. The following year, Oxford Capital, Global Ventures and Al Otaiba were linked to a $200 million deal to renovate the building.