Ruling National Democratic Party MP Hisham Khalil on Sunday requested the annulment of a usufruct contract granted by the government to French hotel chain Accor and the Societe Generale Investment Banking Group for land in Cairo's central Tahrir Square. Khalil also submitted a report by a specialized consulting firm confirming that the contract violated Egyptian laws regulating bids and tenders. "The government is selling public assets at marked-down prices," Khalil said, noting that this made it difficult for foreign companies to resort to international arbitration in case of dispute. According to MP Mostafa el-Sallab, the government sold the land at LE10,000 per square meter when it was actually worth as much as LE100,000. "The government is harming our national economy with this contract," said Central Accounting Agency Undersecretary Sayed Abdel Maaboud. "The usufruct was granted for 5867.40 square meters--the entire land space," Abdel Maaboud added. "Whereas the copy that was submitted to the investment minister for approval was only for 2600 square meters." Translated from the Arabic Edition.
