Why does Egypt need to move its capital?
Why does Egypt need to move its capital? In order to build a new capital, the Egyptian authorities have aggressively attracted international investment, with an initial investment of US$45 billion and an additional US$25 billion later. The Egyptian government believes that it is necessary to build a new capital. Why should Egypt move its capital? Why Egypt is moving its capital 1
After more than five years of planning and construction, Egypt is finally moving its capital.
On November 4, Egyptian President Sisi issued an order instructing the government to move to the new administrative capital starting in December and conduct a six-month trial operation. It is reported that the Egyptian Parliament and embassies of various countries will also be moved to the new capital.
The new administrative capital is located about 45 kilometers east of Cairo. It has a government district, a commercial district, a diplomatic district, a judicial district, an international airport, exhibition venues, a conference center, an educational district, a medical district, as well as gardens and parks. The entertainment center is expected to accommodate 6.5 million people. The urban area uses a large number of smart technologies and clean energy, and has a metropolitan park twice the size of New York City's Central Park.
Cairo, the original capital, is a thousand-year-old ancient capital with a population of 21 million. It is the largest city in the Arab world and Africa. Due to high population density, Cairo's urban infrastructure is overwhelmed. The Egyptian government believes that instead of fighting with the thousand-year-old capital, it is better to move the capital.
Since 2015, the authorities have been planning a new administrative capital in the desert east of Cairo, covering an area of ??about 700 square kilometers. In addition to evacuating about one-third of Cairo’s population, it is expected to create about 200 people. Thousands of job opportunities.
Egyptian President Sisi wants to use the construction of a new capital to attract investment to Egypt, boost the domestic economy, and gain the attention of the international community.
In order to build a new capital, the Egyptian authorities launched a large-scale investment campaign to attract international investment, with an initial investment of US$45 billion and an additional US$25 billion later. It is reported that Egypt has received tens of billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Critics believe that Egypt's poverty rate is as high as 30% and that building the new capital is a waste of money and people, saying that the funds could have been properly used to rebuild the damaged economy and Cairo renovation projects.
However, the Egyptian government believes that it is necessary to build a new capital. In response to the explosion of Cairo's population, Cairo's population will double to 40 million people by 2050. The new capital is expected to attract the elite, and Cairo's existing living environment may be able to Great improvement.
Some supporters say that relocating Egypt is the best way to solve Cairo’s traffic, poverty, social unrest, and boost the economy. You must know that most of Egypt’s population is concentrated in the Greater Cairo area, which has long exceeded this area load. In terms of transportation, during the morning and evening rush hours, the main highways travel extremely slowly, and a 20-minute journey takes more than an hour. In the summer, power is tight and power cuts are common.
There are reports that the builder of Egypt’s new capital is the private real estate investment fund that built the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Arabal, the chairman of the foundation and a Dubai businessman, said that the new capital will be built with the most advanced technology to enhance the confidence and pride of Egyptians.
China also participated in the construction of Egypt’s new capital.
In 2019, the Export-Import Bank of China decided to provide Egypt with a US$1.2 billion loan to fund a tram train between the Greater Cairo area and the new administrative capital. The electric rail trains will be built by Chinese companies. Electric trains will become the main means of transportation from Greater Cairo to the new administrative capital. The railway will connect to the Adli Mansour station in Salam, Cairo's underground rail line 3. It will connect the Greater Cairo area, Elbao City, Sunrise City, Future City and Textile City with the new administrative capital. ”
According to Egypt’s plan, the central business district consists of 20 buildings, including 12 high-rise commercial office buildings, 5 high-rise apartment buildings, 2 star hotels, and a 78-story, 385-story The tallest building in Africa will have a total construction area of ??1.7 million square meters, with a planned investment of US$3 billion. It will be built by China Construction Corporation and is regarded as a milestone in China-Egypt cooperation and a model for the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Project.
Egypt’s new capital will help enhance Egypt’s future status in the Middle East, boost the domestic economy, and maintain political stability. Why Egypt should move its capital 2
Egypt’s new administrative capital. The most important Central Business District (CBD) is built by the Cairo Branch of China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
According to the Associated Press report on November 3, a spokesman for the Egyptian government stated that President Sisi. (Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi) has ordered that government department offices will be moved to the New Administrative Capital Area (NAC) about 45 kilometers east of Cairo starting next month.
It is worth mentioning. , the most important central business district (CBD) in Egypt's new administrative capital, was built by the Cairo Branch of China State Construction Engineering Corporation. In September, Chinese companies just submitted an offer to Egypt and expressed their hope to operate and manage the CBD. However, The jury is still out.
Xinhua News Agency Photo of the Central Business District of Egypt’s New Capital Undertaken by China Construction Group
According to the Associated Press, Egypt’s new administrative capital cost more than 45 billion (approximately RMB 287.7 billion), it is the largest construction project launched by Sisi since he took office in 2014. It is built in the desert about 45 kilometers east of Cairo, covering an area of ??approximately 6,879 square kilometers, twice the size of Cairo, and is expected to accommodate approximately 6.5 million people.
Originally, the Egyptian government hoped to start moving offices into the new city in May last year, but due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the plan was postponed.
The new city has complete functions and convenient transportation, and is known as "Egypt's future high-tech city model." According to the Egyptian government's plan, the new city will accommodate the presidential office, cabinet, parliament and various government departments. In addition, the new city will also build an airport, an opera house, a sports center, and 20 skyscrapers, including the "Iconic Tower", the tallest building in Africa with a total length of about 385 meters.
Xinhua News Agency photo of the central business district of Egypt’s new capital under construction
Egypt’s new administrative capital plans to build transportation including Egypt’s first monorail The network can connect the new city to other cities in the greater Cairo area. According to the plan, the first phase of the monorail will be completed by the end of May 2022, while the second phase will be completed in February 2023.
In addition, the Egyptian government also plans to conduct electronic monitoring of infrastructure and buildings in the city, the roofs will be covered with solar panels, payments will be cashless, and each resident will be allocated 15 square meters meters of green space.
Among Egypt’s new administrative capital construction projects, the core area central business district project is undertaken by the Cairo Branch of China Construction Group Corporation. It is planned to build 20 office buildings, hotels, apartments, etc. on approximately 505,000 square meters of land. A single high-rise building and supporting municipal facilities, with a total construction area of ??approximately 1.7 million square meters. As of May 21 this year, the construction of most of the high-rise main structures of the project is nearing completion, and the main buildings of 10 high-rise office buildings have been capped.
On June 17, the “Tallest Building in Africa” constructed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation also announced that its landmark tower had topped out. The Sign Tower is a composite super high-rise building integrating offices, hotels, commerce, sightseeing and other functions. The project covers a total area of ??65,000 square meters, with a construction area of ??262,000 square meters, 2 underground floors, 78 floors above ground, a structural height of 373.2 meters, and the highest point of the tower crown is 385.8 meters.
Xinhua News Agency photo of the topped-out landmark tower on June 17
The landmark tower project not only created a new city symbol in Egypt, but also continuously refreshed the engineering construction Record: It took 38 hours to complete the pouring of 18,500 cubic meters of super-large concrete floor slabs, with a single-hour pouring volume of 785 cubic meters during the peak period, setting the fastest record for pouring super-large foundation slabs in the history of construction in the Middle East and Africa; the total number of core tube constructions was 808 On the same day, the core tube and steel structure construction achieved construction speeds of "one floor in four days" and "one floor in three days" respectively, creating a new construction speed in Egypt; super high-rise climbing formwork technology, pumping concrete technology and luffing tower crane installation technology etc., all pioneered the construction of super high-rise buildings in Egypt.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly once praised the construction process as an "absolute miracle".
In September, Madbouly told Al-Ahram newspaper that the government had received an offer from a Chinese company to operate and manage the central business district in the new administrative capital, but he The name of the Chinese company was not disclosed.
Madbouly also said that representatives of Chinese companies told him that the central business district of the new administrative capital will attract many large multinational companies, given that the existing supporting facilities can provide sufficient stability.
But he said the government would study the offers before making a final decision.
Regarding the reason for moving the capital, the Egyptian government believes that it is necessary to build a new administrative capital to absorb Cairo's rapidly growing population. By 2050, Cairo's population will double to 40 million. Sisi also said that other projects in the new capital, ranging from new roads and residential complexes to the expansion of the Suez Canal, have attracted investors and created jobs for more than 100 million people in the country.
Critics say the new capital is a "vanity" project whose costs could be better spent on rebuilding the devastated economy and revamping Cairo.
But earlier this year, Sisi said that moving the government to the new capital would "herald a new era in modern government work." The Associated Press stated that since Islamization in the 7th century, this is the first time that Egypt has transferred its center of power outside Cairo.