Arab News

Egypt’s new administra­tive capital will be center of Middle East, says official FASTFACT

- Mohammed Abu Zaid Cairo

The start of the second phase of Egypt’s new administra­tive capital is underway, its chairman has said. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Zaki Abdeen, chairman of the New Administra­tive Capital Company also said there are also plans to implement new proposals in an area of 47,000 feddans (48,778 acres).

Abdeen said the focus is now on attracting internatio­nal brands in fields such as electronic­s, computing and electronic services. Different sectors in the capital will be divided into smaller “cities.” He said the capital is communicat­ing with major internatio­nal companies like Microsoft and Amazon for the project.

Abdeen said there will be fewer residentia­l neighborho­ods in this phase compared with the first phase. The third phase of the new capital will be built on an area of 90,000 feddans (93,405 acres). He said that the new presidenti­al district, government district and headquarte­rs of the House of Representa­tives will be completed by the end of the year, and that the presidenti­al neighborho­od will be ready to receive the Egyptian leader.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah

El-Sisi has said he will exercise his duties from the new headquarte­rs after June 2021. The government also plans to move to the government district at the same time. Abdeen added that the rest of the residentia­l neighborho­ods are between 70 and 80 percent complete. There are growing expectatio­ns that within three to four years, the capital will have seen a huge influx of new residents. Abdeen said that total investment in the first phase of the project

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is likely to exercise his duties from the new headquarte­rs after June 2021.

ranged from 700 to 800 billion Egyptian pounds ($44.2 to $50.2 billion) and did not cost the state any money.

“We are hoping to transform the new administra­tive capital into the capital of the Middle East,” he said.

This project is designed to boost Egypt’s economy. He said the new administra­tive capital is a smart city that will feature the latest technology.

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