The Italian businessman, Giuseppe Cipriani, met this Tuesday with the mayor of Maldonado, Enrique Antía, and there he introduced a new investment partner for the construction project of a luxury hotel with a private casino on the grounds of the former San Rafael hotel in Punta del Este.
as he knew The Observer based on political sources, it is about Naguib Sawiris, a billionaire businessman of Egyptian nationality strongly linked to the field of construction, tourism and telecommunications.
Sawiris is 67 years old and is the second person richest in Egypt, with a fortune of US$ 3.4 billion according to Forbes magazine. In addition, it is one of the world’s leading gold traders and also the owner of Weather Investment which controls Orascom Telecom Holding.
Months ago it had transpired that there were investors with whom they were negotiating. In addition, there was the possibility that one of those investors would join the project not only as a financier, but also as a partner.
The Maldonado administration did not give the name of the businessman, and He limited himself to informing that the modification of the architectural project that will be presented in the coming weeks will maintain the reconstruction of the old San Rafael hotel as the first stage.This will be identical to the original plans, and “non-negotiable condition by the administration”.
Marcelo Umpierrez
The Cipriani group acquired the old hotel in 2018.
In addition to the mayor Antía, the meeting was attended by the architect Rafael Vignoli, the general director of Urban Planning, Soledad Laguarda; the General Director of Environmental Management, Jorge Píriz; the president of the Departmental Board, Damián Tort and the president of the Works Commission, the mayor Luis Artola.
Last December the Cipriani group signed in the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the concession contract for the exploitation of a private casino for 20 years, which is conditional on the construction of a luxury hotel. Together with the signing of the contract, the company Fosara – the name of the Italian Cipriani’s company – deposited a guarantee amounting to US$ 7.8 million.
Last April, a preview of the new idea had been released. In principle, this version eliminated the two horizontal towers that were articulated with the old hotel building, and incorporated three vertical towers. One of them would be located exactly behind the new luxury hotel, and would be 237 meters high.
First, it would begin with the reconstruction of the hotel and the foundation 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, would the second stage be passed in which the first of the three towers would be erected, to the extent that there is demand.
Once the new plan has been presented, the administration must study it, approve it and send it to the Departmental Board for voting.
The base investment that is managed today is about US$ 200 million. That is the floor for the first stage of the hotel, casino and amenities that is included in the tender. For stage two, the investment will depend on what type of towers are built.
