“New Administrative Capital”: Egypt’s new capital – without inhabitants

Egypt’s new capital is scheduled to officially open in January. Some neighborhoods are complete, shops are open. But so far only a few people have moved to the test-tube city outside Cairo’s gates.

It should be the symbol of a new Egypt: generous, splendid, gigantic. Egypt’s new administrative capital “New Administrative Capital” was stamped out of the desert soil in just seven years, about 60 kilometers from the gates of Cairo. A metropolis of superlatives with the tallest tower in Africa, the largest church in the Arab world and the longest flagpole. The heart: a massive government district with parliament, presidential palace, ministries.

2000 schools, 600 clinics, eight universities are planned for the future 6.5 million inhabitants. This should provide relief for the old capital Cairo, which is bursting at the seams, take the pressure off the ailing infrastructure and defuse mega-traffic jams.

The claim of the makers is enormous: “We are creating something really big,” says Hany Mohamed, chief engineer of a construction company. “We invite the entire people of Egypt to the new administrative capital. It is the nucleus of a new Egypt without crowded districts.”

Neighborhoods like ghost towns

In fact, the apartments and villas are only affordable for very few. In the financial district that a Chinese construction company is building, an apartment costs a good 350,000 euros. On average, it should be 100,000 euros. This is too expensive for most Egyptians.

But even the well-heeled are holding back: some quarters have already been completed, but still look like ghost towns. Only a handful of people are said to have moved in so far. The elevators are not working yet. There is a lack of shops and infrastructure. The desert sand is taking its toll on the buildings: the plaster is already peeling in many places. Residents complain of mold infestation.

Few shops open

Instead of the small shops and markets that are typical in Egypt, shopping malls are springing up all over the place. They promise glitz and glamor like in Dubai. Inside, however, there is still sadness. A few shops have already been set up, but only very few are in operation, such as Ashraf Wagdy’s. A year ago, the 55-year-old father opened his photo shop with high hopes. “I wanted to do everything perfectly so that one day my sons would take over,” he says. “It cost me a lot of money.”

So far, however, electricity has only come from a generator by the hour, and there are hardly any customers. Wagdy comes to the store about two days a week, dusts off, and processes online orders. Now he wants to join forces with other shopkeepers to boost business: “We have to meet now and inform the administration that operations have to start here,” he says. “They won’t do it for me alone.”

“It doesn’t work like that”

Actually, the government was supposed to move to the new capital in 2020. The appointment was postponed twice. Now it should be January 2023. Urban planning expert Amre Abdel Kawi from the American University of Cairo doubts whether this will be the starting signal for millions of people to move to the desert:

Egypt’s President Sisi’s prestige project is expected to devour 60 billion euros in construction costs. Lots of money in an emerging market. Most of it is through loans. Critics doubt whether the mega-project will ever pay off, whether it will be filled with life.

You can see this and other reports at 10:15 p.m. on October 13, 2022 in the daily topics.