China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has topped out the first of 20 office towers for Egypt’s new administrative capital.
Chang Weicai, the general manager of CSCEC Egypt, said in a press statement on Sunday: "C03 is the first capped building in the Central Business District project and more building structures will be capped in the near future."
He added: "The Central Business District is making rapid progress toward success. We guarantee quality and on-time delivery and we promise to return the love shown by the Egyptian people to China through our excellent performance."
Among the other buildings under construction in the new capital, 50km east of Cairo, is a 385-metre-high "Iconic Tower", with 80 floors, set to be the tallest in Africa.
Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding with CSCEC in 2015 to build an $80bn administrative capital, with the first phase consisting of the government offices and administrative centres costed at $45bn.
In February 2017, CSCEC was reported to have pulled out of the deal after disagreements over costs following the collapse of the Egyptian pound. However, the differences were resolved and work began on site in May 2018.
The project is expected to cover about 1.9 sq km when it is completed in 2022.
Image: Artist’s rendering of the new city proposed for east of Cairo (Capital City Partners)
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