Session 2: Egypt’s New Administrative Capital: A New City of Unbound Opportunity & Unrestrained Potential

Daniel Horner
Director of Planning and Urban Design
Dar al-Handasah Shair & Partners (Consultant of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing - CBD New Capital), London

The population of Greater Cairo has doubled within the past few decades, which has led to overcrowding, congestion and untenable pressure on the city’s urban infrastructure systems. In response to such pressures the birth of a new city was envisioned by the Government of Egypt to sustainably accommodate physical growth whilst strengthening and diversifying economic growth.

In 2015 at the Egypt Economic Development Conference, under the auspices of President Sisi, the Minister of Housing, Mostafa Madbouly, announced the launch of the New Administrative Capital project. Within that year, construction of a new road corridor leading from Cairo to a newly designated 70,000-hectare site was inaugurated.

The New Administrative Capital represents unrestrained potential to shape a better standard of living for millions of Egyptian families, a once in a generation opportunity to secure long-term sustainable growth and drive the nation forward. Once complete in 2050, it is envisaged that a resident population of 6.5 million people will live in 21 newly constructed residential districts, each of which will be centered on sustainable landscapes, community facilities, and a diverse range of accommodation types—providing a high standard of living for the typical Egyptian family. Such a city is a new growth pole and is being designed and constructed on the ground today.