Skyscrapers, demolition and Egyptian tycoon: twists and turns of the Cipriani project in Punta del Este

The project led by the Italian Giuseppe Cipriani It included an investment of US$400 million and was accompanied by a private casino, with works that would be carried out in four stages until 2024.

Barely a month later, the skyscraper -which generated strong controversy- was ruled out and the investment group presented its new idea to society: two horizontal towers raised on articulated foundations with the old hotel building that would be completely remodeled. The maximum height would be 100 meters.

“There are always important comments and you have to listen to everyone. (…) With such height” the hotel “was not hierarchical”, Cipriani pointed out in those days in public statements.

The second idea was also made public in 2018.

In July of the same year, the Maldonado Departmental Board gave the green light for the construction of the towers. The idea had the votes of the National Party, the Colorado Party and even the mayors who responded to the ex-front member Darío Pérez.

An exception in height of 91 meters was also approved. That day began to run a first term of 180 days for the start of the works that would employ some 1,000 people during construction.

From renovation to demolition

But shortly before the end of 2018 another change of plans was known. The old structure of the San Rafael hotel would be demolished to be rebuilt brick by brick. “I hope that for the 2020-2021 season the hotel and casino part will be operational as well as the other services for our clients,” Cipriani told the Punta del Este newspaper Diario Correo.

Miguel Noguez

Demolition work on the old building took about three months in 2019.

At the beginning of 2019, the firm Fosara (Cipriani Group) presented the private initiative to operate a new private casino. And in April of that year it began with the demolition of the old hotel that ended a short time later in June.

Also in the middle of that year, the Executive Power accepted the private casino initiative and in October approved the feasibility studies. But time passed, the works did not start, and the property located on the Lorenzo Batlle Pacheco boulevard became an immense vacant lot.

The pandemic arrived and everything got worse

With the pandemic installed in the country and in the world, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) awarded Cipriani in December 2020 the concession for the exploitation of a physical casino license for 20 years, conditional on the construction of a luxury hotel. This after an open tender in which there were no new bidders.

In April 2021, the investors submitted to the Maldonado mayor’s office an advance on a new project that eliminated the two horizontal towers and incorporated three vertical towers. One of them would be located exactly behind the new luxury hotel, and would be 237 meters high. The second tower that would be located further east would be 170 meters high, and a third building would rise to 125 meters high.

But it also remained unknown when the first bricks would begin to be laid, to the point that the mayor Enrique Antía came to meet with Cipriani to demand certainty about the work.

In May of that year, the Italian asked the mayor for “patience” and explained that most of his businesses in the world had closed as a result of the pandemic, except in the United Arab Emirates, making it “very difficult” to be able to mobilize capital in that moment.

Signature and guarantee

On January 28, 2022 Cipriani signed the concession contract for the casino in Punta del Este at the MEF. This included the purchase of a guarantee -contract performance bond- for US$200,000 from the State Insurance Bank, to constitute the guarantee required by the Executive Power of US$7.8 million.

“To have external financing, you have to have a concrete and closed project, which is what was missing here. Today’s stage is very important. This is the first step for you to really move forward. Today the seriousness of the company and its intention were reaffirmed, ”he said that day to The Observer a source linked to the private initiative.

The Egyptian billionaire who came and went

Maldonado City Hall

Meeting between Mayor Antía, Cipriani and Naguib Sawiris in February 2022.

Almost a month later, Cipriani met with Antía to discuss the investment and introduce her to a new partner. It was Naguib Sawiris, a businessman of Egyptian nationality strongly linked to the construction, tourism and telecommunications industry with a fortune of US$ 3.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

From then on, little else was known. It was not until September that Mayor Antía reported that the project was going ahead and with the condition of remodeling the former San Rafael as a priority.

At the beginning of December 2022 Cipriani informed the Works Commission of the Departmental Board that the Egyptian Sawiris had withdrawn as investment partner for the delays in the approval of the specifications. In any case, the Italian tycoon stated that he had everything ready to start.

The tallest tower to take pictures

Maldonado City Hall

On Wednesday, December 14, the project was considered again by the Maldonado Departmental Board which once again gave the green light, but with some additions so that the main resort has the tallest building in South America. One of the three towers that will go behind the traditional hotel may be up to 320 meters high in accordance with the exception enabled, 20 meters more than what was initially requested by the promoter.

“Why not have a tower like the ones in New York?”asked the mayor of the National Party Javier Sena who proposed the idea, and who gave the example of the United States where people take photos next to the big towers. “The idea is that they can do it here as well,” he said.

First, it would begin with the reconstruction of the hotel and the basement where the private casino –key to the business– and the rest of the services will be located. And only later, with that part already operational, it would go on to the second stage in which it would raise the first of the three towers.

“Once it is approved in the meeting, we are going to hurry, we are going to push what needs to be pushed,” said Antía. The mayor authorized the start of work and now the businessman has 180 days to start the project.

The old San Rafael building would be raised again with its four standard floors, the attic, the lobby and the mezzanine; It will have 80 rooms and 268 underground parking spaces. The towers will have 282 housing units, and the amending project proposes to build 170,084 square meters. Until now, almost five years after the investment was announced, Maldonado is still waiting for the first bricks.