Egypt has signed an agreement with the state-owned construction giant, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), to help it relocate its capital to a new administrative centre to the east of Cairo, the existing capital.
The proposed city, which Egypt plans to build within five to seven years, has an eventual estimated cost of $80bn, with the first phase consisting of the government offices and administrative centres costed at $45bn–
The memorandum of understanding calls for CSCEC to "study building and financing" the administrative part of the new capital, which will include ministries, government agencies and the president’s office.
Egypt’s investment minister confirmed the existence of the agreement to Reuters yesterday.
The surprise announcement raises questions about the involvement of the ambitious scheme’s only private-sector partner, the UAE’s Capital City Partners (CCP), which signed an initial agreement for the mega-project at a high-profile economic summit in Egypt in March.
In June doubts emerged over the scheme when Egyptian housing minister Mostafa Madbouly admitted that negotiations with CCP were "very sensitive" and had "very many complications".
CCP was founded by Mohamed Alabbar, an Emirati businessman and founder of Burj Khalifa developer, Emaar Properties.
The proposed city, which Egypt plans to build within five to seven years, has an eventual estimated cost of $80bn, with the first phase consisting of the government offices and administrative centres costed at $45bn.
According to the developers the new city will house 5 million people in more than a million new homes.
Photograph: Artist’s render of the new city proposed for east of Cairo (Capital City Partners)
