Egypt plans to expand new part of capital as first residents arrive
Egypt is preparing to spend billions to double the size of the new part of the capital it is building in the desert 45km east of Cairo, with the first residents already arriving there, Reuters reports
The city is the largest in a series of mega-projects that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says are needed for economic development and accommodation of a growing population of 105 million people. However, critics say this construction drains resources and increases Egypt’s debt burden.
“Government employees transferred in July to ministries and offices built in the new city’s first phase, eight years after the launch of the project known as the New Administrative Capital (NAC),” the publication reads.
Built on pristine land, the city is designed to be a high-tech model of Egypt’s future, away from the clutter and chaos of Cairo. The government wants it to accommodate part of the country’s population, which is estimated to be growing at 1.6 percent a year.
Although the pace of works has slowed in recent time, the city’s first phase already includes a 70-storey tower – the tallest in Africa – a five-hall opera house, a mega-mosque and the largest cathedral in the Middle East.
