Egypt's govt to demolish NDP HQ, give land to Egyptian Museum

Egypt's cabinet has decided to demolish the headquarters of toppled president Hosni Mubarak's political party and give the space to the adjoining garden and building of the Egyptian Museum, the cabinet's spokesman Hani Salah said on Thursday at a press conference.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) building was torched by protesters on 28 January 2011, during the uprising which eventually led to Mubarak's ouster, and has remained in a state of abandon ever since, despite being located next to the Egyptian Museum, one of the country's most important tourist attractions.

Documents held at the Egyptian Registry and Land Survey Authority show that the riverfront piece of property was originally part of the museum when it was built in 1901, according to an Al-Ahram Weekly story from last month. The land was used as a cargo dock for boats transporting antiquities down river from Luxor, Aswan and the rest of Upper Egypt for restoration and display at the museum.

The government has fielded many suggestions in the last three years as to what it should do with the eyesore of a building, given its landmark location in Tahrir Square.