Egypt plans to build 50 fourth-generation cities – or smart cities – by 2050, with 22 under development as of late 2020. The headline project, the NAC, will replace the current capital of Cairo as the centre for government and foreign missions. Construction began in 2015 and, once complete, the $58bn new capital will span 700 sq km and be home to 6.5m residents. Importantly, it will ease overcrowding in Cairo, the population of which stood at more than 21m in 2020. The NAC will use smart technology to manage security, traffic and resources in real time. Such tools applied to utilities will reduce consumption and costs, and fibre technology will connect every structure to the network. Building and energy management will focus on renewable energy and using IoT devices to boost efficiency. A planned 90-sq-km solar farm will help to ensure energy consumption is sustainable. These technologies are expected to result in cost savings for both the private and public sector, as well as improve service provision, attract investment and enhance Egypt’s competitiveness on a global scale.
In addition to public offices and embassies, the NAC will feature Knowledge City – a centre for applied research, technical training, software and application development, and data design that will include universities, a science park, and research, innovation and entrepreneurship facilities. “Public-private research efforts aim to deploy AI, data science and IoT to address specific and pressing challenges in fields such as urban planning, health care, agriculture, water management, education and resource optimisation,” Amr Talaat, the minister of communications and information technology, told OBG.
In September 2020 a new headquarters for the Ministry of Finance was finalised. The following month the New Administrative Capital for Urban Development (NACUD) body announced it would sell the remaining land available under the first phase of the project – which focused on residential development – by 2022. NACUD also noted it signed 196 contracts for schools, sporting clubs, banks, mixed-use developments and offices, and is expected to start bringing facilities on-line by 2023. Meanwhile, work on the second phase – which includes government and presidential districts – began in September 2020, with public offices set to shift to the new capital in mid-2021.
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