Competition launched to name Egypt’s vast new capital

The army-controlled company delivering Egypt’s new capital city in the desert east of Cairo has launched a competition to find a name for it.

Since the ambitious project’s unveiling in 2015, the city, intended as the new home for the sprawling Egyptian government as well as a thriving business and finance hub, has been called only the "New Administrative Capital".

Yesterday ACUD, the 51% army-owned delivery agency, offered $4,500 (E£75,000) to the person whose suggestion for a name and logo gets picked by a panel of judges, Egypt Today reports.

There are conditions. The name, in Arabic, must express the Egyptian identity, be simple and no longer than two words, and cannot refer to politics or religion.

Cash prizes are available to second- and third-place winners, as well, in the competition, which closes 17 August.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is pressing on with the new city despite the failure of two big development deals with Chinese and Emirati investors.

Egypt has borrowed some $4.5bn from China to build a central business district in the new city, with construction under way by China State Construction Engineering Corp, and to build a rail link to Cairo.

An estimated $58bn is needed for the from-scratch city, which the government says is necessary to decongest Cairo.

Its vision for the soon-to-be-named city is for it to have a population of 7 million people eventually.

Image: Artist’s render of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital (Courtesy of the Urban Development Consortium, UDC+5)

Further reading:

• Egypt is struggling to fund its new capital, official says
• Desert dreams: Poor prospects for Egypt’s brand new capital
• China’s CSCEC to "train 10,000 Egyptian workers" at new capital project