New capital to cut Cairo overcrowding

Egypt’s plans to build a new administrative and business capital aim to alleviate congestion and overpopulation in Cairo over the next 40 years, according to its minister of housing.

The new city will house five million people and feature a theme park “four times bigger than Disneyland”, according to plans announced at the Egypt The Future conference.

The housing minister, Mustafa Kamel Madbuli, said the new city would relieve pressure on overcrowded Cairo, whose population of 18 million is expected to double in coming decades.

“The idea to build the new city originated from our awareness that Cairo’s population will double in the next 40 years,” Mr Madbuli said on Friday in a presentation showcasing the details.

Mr Madbuli said the new city would be built to the east of the capital between Cairo and the canal city of Suez.

He said the proposed 700-square-kilometre metropolis would house up to five million people in 25 residential districts.

Mr Madbuli said the new city would have large green spaces and provide a better standard of living.

It will also have “an international airport, a theme park four times bigger than Disneyland, 90 sq km of solar farms and an electric train” link with Cairo, he added.

Parliament, presidential palaces, government ministries and foreign embassies would move to the new city, the minister said, adding that these projects would be built over the next five to seven years at a cost of US$45 billion.

The overall cost of the new city was not revealed, nor were details on how it would be funded.

“The master plan is to create a global city with smart infrastructure for Egypt’s future, which will provide a multitude of economic opportunities and offer a distinct quality of life,” an online plan of the city stated.

The first phase of the programme, Mr Madbuli said, is an expansion of the current outskirts of the capital to the east, adding an additional 105km of development. The area would also include 10,000km of roads.

Eventually the new capital will link up with the Suez Canal zone, he said.

This is the latest megaproject planned by the government following the expansion of the Suez Canal and the creation of an industrial zone around it.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter