TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Egypt government to begin move to new capital in December
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "directed the government to start the actual transfer to the government district in the New Administrative Capital starting in December for a trial period of 6 months," he said.
Change Size
This picture taken on August 3, 2021 shows a view of the "Iconic Tower" skyscraper (C) and other construction work ongoing at the "business and finance district" of Egypt's "New Administrative Capital" megaproject, some 45 kilometres east of Cairo. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)
T
he Egyptian government will start the process in December of moving offices to a new administrative capital located east of Cairo, a spokesman for the presidency said on Wednesday in a statement.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "directed the government to start the actual transfer to the government district in the New Administrative Capital starting in December for a trial period of 6 months," he said.
The new capital is designed as a high-tech "smart city" to accommodate 6.5 million residents and ease congestion in Cairo.
The city will include a government district, a business district, vast parks and a diplomatic district.
At the heart of the new capital, workers are already putting finishing touches to an avenue of ministries that echo the architecture of pharaonic temples and adjoin a raised Islamic complex, two domed parliament buildings and a sprawling presidential compound.
There will be a monorail passing through a business district where a 385-metre central tower is close to completion. Beyond, the contours of a 10km park stretching to a giant mosque are taking shape.
The city, known simply as the New Administrative Capital, is designed to operate with smart technology on virgin land away from the clutter and chaos of Cairo. It will boast universities, leisure facilities and a diplomatic quarter.
But it has made halting progress, and after Emirati funding fell through shortly after it was announced in 2015, the military and government took on the estimated $25 billion cost of the first phase, injecting off-budget investment.
Some foreign loans and financing have been secured.
“The rate of completion of the first phase has passed 60 percent across all projects,” said Khaled el-Husseiny, spokesman for the new capital.
