Egypt is building a smart city to escape Cairo's congestion
In short: To relieve the pressure of a metropolitan population nearing 20 million, Egypt is constructing The New Capital. This massive urban project aims to relocate government ministries and residential districts to a vast, undeveloped area east of Cairo, utilizing smart technology and AI to manage the city's future.
The New Capital, located 45 kilometres east of Cairo, is a massive undertaking designed to alleviate congestion in Egypt's crowded capital. Originally announced in March 2015 by housing minister Mostafa Madbouly as part of the Egypt Vision 2030 initiative, the project has faced various delays. While the government intended to move ministries and embassies between 2020 and 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic and construction hurdles delayed the relocation of over 30,000 employees until March 2023. As of May 2023, 14 ministries and government entities had successfully relocated to the site.
The city is being developed as a 'smart city,' featuring over 6,000 street-monitoring cameras and the use of AI to oversee waste management and water usage. The planned infrastructure is immense, including a 35-kilometre 'Green River' park, a 93,440-seat stadium, and the potential for the Oblisco Capitale—a skyscraper designed to reach 1,000 metres, which would make it the tallest building in the world. The city's governance is managed by the Administrative Capital Urban Development Company (ACUD), a state-owned enterprise with significant shares held by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Housing.
Despite the ambition, the project faces criticism. Observers note that previous attempts to build cities outside the Nile Delta failed because they were marketed to the upper classes, leaving many units unsold. Critics also question the financial sustainability of the project; while President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has stated the state will not fund it, public funds and loans continue to flow into the development, contributing to national debt and high inflation.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The New Capital
- Also: Wikidata — The New Capital · CC0
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