The Nile Ritz-Carlton Rehabilitation
Cairo
Award of Merit

Owner Misr Hotels Co.
Prime Contractor Hill International Inc.
General Contractor Arabian Construction Co.
Lead Designer Frank Nicholson
Architectural Design MZMH
Structural Engineer ECO
MEP Engineer Shaker Consultant

Renovating the historic Nile Ritz-Carlton hotel in Cairo involved not only upgrading more than 300 guest rooms, restaurants and meeting rooms and adding a conference center, ballroom and underground parking. It also meant working adjacent to Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt’s Arab Spring. First, the large number of work packages caused contractual and design conflicts that had to be resolved when project manager Hill International came aboard.

Safety became a major issue: The curtain wall was replaced, and fire, life-safety and security systems were updated. The project site had been used as an escape route by demonstrators, so work was staged to prevent any interaction between workers and demonstrators. The project team had to coordinate with police and military forces to protect storage areas and the 1,500 craftworkers entering and exiting the site as well as to schedule the times and accepted routes for materials deliveries. For example, the curtain-wall components were stored but not installed until the site was safe from vandalism.

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