The General Director of the General Foundation for the al-Hejaz Railway Station, Hassanein Muhammad Ali, has ended the controversy over the identity of the company that obtained the investment contract for the “Nirvana” complex project next to the historic al-Hejaz Railway Station in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

In an interview with the “al-Mokhtar” program broadcasted on the local radio station “al-Madina FM” on Wednesday, 10 June, Ali said that the “Syrian Private Company al-Hejaz for Investment” is the one that will invest in the “Nirvana” complex project.

The “Nirvana” complex’s investment contract is three years in duration, with an annual allowance of 1.6 billion Syrian pounds (SYP = 640,000 USD) for the al-Hejaz Foundation. It includes a five-star hotel of 12 stories, a commercial complex, a restaurant, and four underground floors.

The project will be built on an area of 5,000 square meters ( m2) next to the station, provided that the complex will be fully owned by the General Foundation for the al-Hejaz Railway Station after 45 years of investment.

Moreover, once the investment contract is certified by Syria’s Ministry of Tourism, a group of store owners, “al-Waleed Gas Station”, and “al-Hejaz Cafe” will be warned in preparation for the implementation of the project.

It is worth noting that four Syrian companies applied for the “Nirvana” complex’s investment, and the “Syrian Private Company al-Hejaz for Investment” was the one to win the tender.

Last October, the General Foundation for the al-Hejaz Railway Station introduced the project’s proposal, which will occupy the site of the real estate property “748” that includes the “al-Hejaz Café”, a gas station, and some shops owned by the foundation.

The project that involves constructing a large building next to the al-Hejaz Station and several other historical sites in the area has provoked resentment on the part of Syrian citizens.

For these people, the project will distort the architecture of the area and overshadow the historical building of the al-Hejaz Station. It will also cancel the presence of the “al-Hejaz Cafe,” one of the most popular cafes in Damascus.

The “Nirvana” complex project is to be built in one of the most vital sites in central Damascus, near al-Marjeh Square, al-Hamidiyah Souq, Citadel of Damascus and the Umayyad Mosque, overlooking al-Nasr and Khalid Ibn al-Walid streets.

The soon to be demolished “al-Hejaz Café” is one of the most popular cafes in Damascus city. It was opened at the beginning of the 1950s over an area of 1,600 m2.

The café has two winter halls of 900 m2, and an open courtyard for summer that can accommodate up to 600 people.