Proposed new capital of Egypt
| Proposed new capital of Egypt | |
|---|---|
| City | |
  Proposed new capital of Egypt Location in Egypt | |
 Proposed new capital of Egypt Location in Lower Egypt | |
| Coordinates: 30°02′N 31°47′E / 30.03°N 31.78°ECoordinates: 30°02′N 31°47′E / 30.03°N 31.78°E | |
| Country |
 Egypt |
| Metropolitan area | Greater Cairo |
| Area (as planned) | |
| • City centre | 5.6 km2 (2.2 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 700 km2 (300 sq mi) |
| Population (as planned) | |
| • City centre | 250,000 |
| • Density | 45,000/km2 (120,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 5,000,000 |
| • Urban density | 7,100/km2 (18,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| Website |
thecapitalcairo |
The proposed new capital of Egypt is a large-scale project announced by Egyptian housing minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Egypt Economic Development Conference on 13 March 2015.[1]
The new, yet-unnamed city is to be located east of Cairo and just outside the Second Greater Cairo Ring Road in a currently largely undeveloped area halfway to the seaport city of Suez. According to the plans, city would become the new administrative and financial capital of Egypt, housing the main government departments and ministries, as well as foreign embassies. On 700 square kilometres (270 sq mi) total area, it would provide homes for up to five million people.[2]
The proposal also includes a major theme park and a new international airport[3] at the site of the preexisting Wadi al Jandali Airport[4] currently used by the Egyptian Air Force.[5] It is planned that the transfer of parliament, presidential palaces, government ministries and foreign embassies will be completed between 2020 and 2022 at a cost of US$45 billion. A full cost and timescale for the overall project has not been disclosed.[3]
Speaking prior to the official announcement, Egypt's investment minister Ashraf Salman had already mentioned the possibility of a new capital being "developed, master-planned and executed by a private sector company", at no cost to the Egyptian treasury.[6] It was later revealed that Capital City Partners, the firm involved with the plans, is led by Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar.[2]
The project was quickly derided as a "Potemkin" city and criticised for being unrealistic, consuming resources better spent on solving the problems of existing Egyptian cities, and for being presented without consulting or even informing the Egyptian people.[7][8][9]
References
- ↑ "Egypt plans new capital adjacent to Cairo". Al Jazeera. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Egypt to build new administrative and business capital". BBC News. 13 March 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Egyptian government reveals plans to build new capital city east of Cairo". ABC News. 14 March 2015.
- ↑ Wadi al Jandali Airport
- ↑ Jennings, Gareth (21 September 2014). "US reaffirms Apache delivery to Egypt". Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "Egypt announces plans for new capital city amid signals of renewed Gulf ties". Jerusalem Post. 1 March 2015.
- ↑ Schiavenza, Matt. "Egypt to build a Potemkin capital". The Atlantic. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Fahmy, Khaled. "Chasing Mirages in the Desert". Cairo Observer. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Tarabieh, Khaled. "Finding hope in the Desert". Cairo Observer. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
External links
- The Capital Cairo, a website promoting the new development (English) (Arabic)