Cost of construction of new cities not part of state’s budget

CAIRO - 27 July 2023: The expenses of the construction of new cities are completely separate from the Egyptian state's budget, said Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli in comments to Extra News on Wednesday.

“New Urban Communities Authority assumes this responsibility, and new cities, such as New Alamein and the New Administrative Capital, are built in a self-development manner, and therefore they are far from the state's general budget,” he added.

The Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) released an infograph on June 28, highlighting that LE 400 billion had been spent on building new cities in Greater Cairo with the aim of reducing population density, which had recorded 11,000 per square kilometer.

The center compared the figure to those of Paris and New Mexico, where they are 5,000 per square kilometer and 2,800 per square kilometer, respectively.

Greater Cairo comprises three governorates that are Cairo, Giza, and Qalyoubiyah. All span over 3,000 square kilometers and have a total population of 25 million. The larger of which is Cairo with 9.9 million citizens and a population growth rate of 12 percent. It is home to 796,000 university students, 12,000 factories, 18,000 hotel rooms, and 25 culture centers. It consists of 148,000 social housing units.

Giza comes next with 9.6 million citizens, and a population growth rate of 16.8 percent. It is home to 359,000 university students, 6,900 factories, 9,200 hotel rooms, and 18 cultural centers. It consists of 181,000 social housing units.

Qalyoubiyah comes last with 5.8 million citizens, and a population growth rate of 14.5 percent. It is home to 214,000 university students, 7,000 factories, six hotel rooms, and 16 cultural centers. It consists of 57,000 social housing units.