UAE to build Egypt’s ‘new Cairo’

SHARM EL SHEIKH // The UAE will be the driving force behind the construction of a new administrative capital for Egypt.

A key part of the project is to be named in honour of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

The Dh72 billion city will occupy 700 square kilometres of land to the east of Cairo, about 12 times the size of Manhattan, and will accommodate seven million people and create 1.5 million jobs.

The land deal was signed at the Egypt The Future economic conference yesterday by Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of the Dubai developer Emaar and head of the Capital City Partners fund that will build the city, and Mustafa Madbuli, Egypt's minister of housing.

The ceremony was witnessed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Prime Minister and Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

Sheikh Mohammed later returned to Dubai, after delivering a speech on Friday described by one delegate as “the best received of the conference”.

In other developments at the gathering yesterday, the Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power signed a deal with Egypt worth billions of dollars to develop renewable energy and natural gas power projects.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter