Egypt launches its new administrative capital
The re-election of Abdel Fatah El-Sisi in last December's elections was the definitive blow to start a project that the president had been preparing for years. With almost 90% of the votes, the inauguration of his third term in office was, according to the chairman of the Board of Directors of the New Administrative Capital Company of Egypt, the step that represents the official inauguration of the new administrative capital.
A Pharaonic Project
Being the largest city in the Arab world and having a population of more than 20 million inhabitants was not enough for the Egyptian president. And it is said to be for him because it is a personal gamble. So much so that it is known by many as "El-Sisi's city". It is located 45 kilometres from Cairo and 60 kilometres from the Suez Canal.
Khaled Abbas, chairman of the board of directors of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development, the company overseeing the project, says that "the Administrative Capital was not an illusion as some described it, but rather a dream come true". Although the capital expansion project was launched in 2017, it is only now that the relocation of the administrative capital and all the weight that comes with it begins, which is why Abbas speaks of how "if we had not started and delayed its implementation until now, we would have faced great difficulties".
It is expected that over the coming months, the locations of all government offices will gradually be moved to the new capital. The process, which began in the middle of last year, has already brought nearly a hundred government agencies, including thirty ministries, relocating just over 50,000 employees.
The new House of Representatives will cover an area of more than 100,000 square metres and include several service buildings, in addition to the Council Chamber, which can accommodate around 1,000 representatives. The area of this first phase of the administrative capital will have a total surface area of well over 160,000 square metres, in addition to the Iconic Tower which, at 394 metres high, is the tallest skyscraper on the entire African continent.
Population growth and job creation
In order to make such a complex network attractive to the Egyptian population, a number of projects have been implemented with this goal in mind. Up to the beginning of this year alone, more than 100,000 houses have already been built and more than 1,200 families have been welcomed, which represents, according to the company responsible, the beginning of a much more ambitious project that will see its development in the second, third and fourth phases.
For the time being, the expenditure amounts to 16 billion dollars in infrastructures. And that the overall amount will be much larger to achieve a city characterised, according to the authorities, by being:
- Green City
- Sustainable
- Pedestrian-friendly
- For living and living
- Connected
- Smart
- Business
All of this comes together in a totally innovative city that now begins one of its most important phases with its inauguration as an administrative capital.