Tour in new passport services center in Abaseya

CAIRO – 7 July 2019: A new passport services center was established in one of the old buildings characterized by its luxurious architecture in Abaseya to replace the one that used to exist in Al Tahrir Complex.

Unlike the old one, the new center – equipped with central AC - relies more on technology, has a waiting hall and adopts a queue number waiting system which has eliminated crowdedness.

Egypt Today made a tour in the new center to check how the procedures are going on and how the place looks like. The entrance has a security gate. When you walk in the ground floor, you will find 12 escalators and 12 elevators. The seven-storey building stretches over 40,000 square meters and encompasses many departments affiliated to the General Passport Administration at the Ministry of Interior.

On the right, you will find the Human Rights Department that facilitates procedures for the elderly, the disabled, and individuals suffering from different illnesses. Each floor has a bank branch where individuals can pay the fees without being told "there is no change."

Each floor offers a specific service so that individuals do not have to hit many floors and offices to get the procedures done. Also, there are many signs that can help you reach the service you need. Smoking is not allowed and the building has surveillance cameras. You will never hear the infamous "the system is down" as there are many alternatives to work under different conditions.

Egypt Today talked to some citizens seeking services at the center. Ragaa Megahed, a pharmacist, said that the quality of the services offered in the center is quite decent as she sought the help of the Human Rights Department. She added that all procedures were finished in few minutes and that the employees are lenient.

Sayed Selim said he felt he was in Europe and not Egypt as everything went smoothly and he got the documents he needed in record time. Moreover, Sarah from Yemen described the service in the center as similar to that she receives in the airport because of the short time she spent to finish the procedures and because of the digitization of services. She added she wishes to see that level of service in all Arab countries.

Al Tahrir Complex is a building offering different civil services; it will be shut down soon as most of the services it offers will be transferred to the New Administrative Capital (NAC). All the headquarters of administrative bodies will move to NAC in 2020.