Egypt close to revealing plan for its ‘new’ New Cairo capital



LONDON // Egypt is weeks away from signing up a major Arabian Gulf-based property developer to spearhead the development of a Dh240 billion capital city the size of New Cairo, a senior minister said yesterday.

The Egyptian government will probably relocate to the new capital, which will be located east of Cairo and take 12 years to build.

Ashraf Salman, Egypt’s investment minster, said the city is set to get the green light at a conference being held next month in Sharm El Sheikh.

“We are talking to a master developer. A signature will take place by the conference, and after that the construction will begin,” he told The National.

Mr Salman declined to specify the name of the developer, citing a non-disclosure agreement, but confirmed that UAE parties have been involved in the negotiations.

Dubai-listed Emaar was recently linked to the construction of Egypt’s proposed new city. Egypt’s prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab, on a visit to the UAE this month, said the Dubai developer would play “a key role” in building the new capital city, according to state news agency Wam.

Emaar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr Salman said the new city had not yet been named, and is currently in the “branding phase”. It is to be built on the road to the Ain Sokhna, to the east of Cairo towards the Suez area, and will be at least the size of New Cairo, which covers 70,000 acres.

“We’re talking a very big city. It is just the size of New Cairo itself … It is the ‘new New Cairo’,” the minister said.

It emerged last year that Egypt was considering building a new capital, and relocating government buildings, ministries and foreign embassies from central Cairo. But this is the first confirmation of the size and cost of the development, the timescale, and when it will get the go-ahead.

The Egyptian government will “most probably” be relocated to the new city, Mr Salman said. “It is a whole city, with shops, retail, new industrial areas, new commercial areas, the government buildings and cities, residential areas,” he said.

Mr Salman was speaking on the sidelines of the Telegraph Middle East Congress in London. He told delegates that Egypt’s new capital would be built and funded entirely by the private sector, proving that Egypt is “really committed to an open-market economy”.

“The government will incur zero cost in the city, and this will be totally developed, master planned and executed by a private sector company – a developer from the Gulf,” he said.

Egypt is expected to seek billions of dollars of foreign direct investment at next month’s donor conference in Sharm El Sheikh.

Opportunities across the energy, health, infrastructure, education, property and retail sectors will be presented at the event, Mr Salman said.

“We will be offering around 25 projects in different sectors, amounting to around US$30bn,” he said.

Deregulation of the electricity sector will also provide opportunities to outside investors, he added.

Arabian Gulf states have thrown their support – and wealth – behind Egypt since the overthrow of the former president Mohammed Morsi in 2013, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait giving more than $12bn in aid and other assistance.

Karim Awad, the chief executive of EFG Hermes, said at the conference in London that job creation was now a major priority for Egypt.

“One of the things we would like to see from an economic perspective is the creation of sustainable job opportunities,” he said.

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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
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The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli

Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

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Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
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Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

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Business Insights
  • As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses. 
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  • Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

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The details

Colette

Director: Wash Westmoreland

Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West

Our take: 3/5

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Business Insights
  • Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
  • The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
  • US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 390bhp

Torque: 400Nm

Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5

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