Sisi keen that old, new cities be smart, says minister

CAIRO – 30 June 2017: Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser el Kady said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is keen that all Egyptian cities, either old or new, have to be smart ones.

President Sisi urged expediting the establishment of Maarefa (knowledge) new city in the new administrative capital, Kady told Sabah el Kheir ya Masr (Good Morning Egypt) TV show on Friday.

The design of the city has been created and submitted to president Sisi, the minister said, noting that procedures are underway to provide lands for the Ministry of Communications.

The minister indicated that the city is due to be set up in four phases, adding that there is a desire to merge these phases and finalize the city's establishment as soon as possible in compliance with the relevant international standards.

Meanwhile, Kady noted that the communications sector has witnessed a huge leap since President Sisi took office in 2014.

Egypt managed to provide 4G license to telecom operators, while it was ranked 14th worldwide and 2nd among Arab and African countries in the Global Cyber-security Index (GCI) that measures the commitment of countries to cyber security.