Egypt's New Administrative Capital can be home to 6.5M citizens: official

CAIRO – 1 July 2021: Deputy Head of the New Administrative Capital Municipal Authority Ahmed al-Araby stated Thursday that the new city consists of 20 neighborhoods and can be home to 6.5 million citizens of different income levels.

The most prominent neighborhoods in the capital are the governmental neighborhood encompassing the headquarters of the ministries parliament and Cabinet; the business neighborhood housing the Iconic Tower; and the diplomatic neighborhood having embassies.

In January, officials announced that 90 percent of the governmental neighborhood were completed. The first phase of the New Capital is about developing 40,000 feddans to house two million citizens. Launched in 2017, that phase has been accomplished by more than 70 percent, and is planned to be completed in 2-3 years.

In June, the completion of the construction of the Iconic Tower was announced so as only finishing works are still under progress. The Iconic Tower, which is the tallest in Africa given its height of 385 meters, is surrounded by 20 others towers. The building will consist of offices, residential units, and a hotel, which occupies the highest 30 floors.

Deputy Minister of Housing for National Projects Khaled Abbas highlighted in March that the Central Bank of Egypt will offer financing to those who want to purchase units in the New Capital as they will be able to acquire loans with eight percent interest rate to be paid back over 20 years.

The official noted that 40,000 to 50,000 public employees will move to the New Capital in the first phase of the operation of the Governmental Neighborhood where work is paperless. The employees will be given the option to purchase residential units in nearby Badr City.

Speaking of the Central Park being implemented in the New Capital, the deputy housing minister said that the price of ticket will be set in a way that covers maintenance costs noting that the size of the city is double that of New Cairo.

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Abbas added that parks located on the banks of the artificial "Green River" will have 36 gates. The river has a length of 11 kilometers and a total area of 1,000 feddans (one feddan is equal to 4,200 square meters).

That area is divided into entertainment, educational, and cultural zones, and also includes an artificial lake spanning over 25 feddans surrounded by restaurants and an aqua park. There is also an open-air area dedicated to various types of ceremonies.

The deputy minister declared that the projects in the New Administrative Capital are expected to generate a margin of profit of 25-30 percent. Abbas said that the New Urban Communities Authority had achieved a surplus of LE30 billion over the past two years. He added that urban development rates were estimated to reach 14 percent in 10 years up from seven percent. However, the target has been reached recently.

Another popular neighborhood in the New Capital is "New Garden City," Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem al-Gazar stated in April that 92 percent of constructions in the neighborhood are over, and that the progress rate of finishing works is 18 percent.

"Garden City" is the fifth residential neighborhood in the New Capital and is named after Cairo's Garden City neighborhood built in the Khedevian era. It is executed by nine Egyptian construction firms.

The new neighborhood consists of 21,953 residential units, as it has 459 villas, and 385 buildings encompassing 21,494 flats. As for commercial units, their number is 513 in addition to facilities like educational, medical, administrative, and entertainment establishments.

The neighborhood spans over 885 feddans (one feddan is equal to 4,200 square meters) viewing the Central Park and its architectural design is a mix of baroque and more modern styles of French architecture.