Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Wednesday that state employees who will have their workplace moved to the New Administrative Capital (NAC) can choose between receiving a transport allowance or a housing allowance, a cabinet statement said.

The NAC, established east of Cairo over 170,000 feddans (176,000 acres), is expected to be inaugurated by the end of this year to serve as a new capital. 

The state plans to move around 40,000 employees to the new capital as a first phase, especially at its government district. Experimental operations of government services are expected to start in July or August this year, according to the cabinet.

According to the incentive program approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, the state will offer subsidised housing units to workers moving to the new capital. These units are part of the Egypt Housing project in Badr City.

Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said that employees can pay EGP 110,000 as a down payment to get an apartment in Badr City, which is 25 percent of the property’s value.

Employees can own an apartment for a total price of EGP 450,000 – paid for in instalments – instead of its full value of EGP 675,000, since they will be exempted from paying for the building plot and facilities, Saad told Sada El-Balad satellite channel.

As for the other option, the cabinet said, employees who are not willing to move to the Badr housing units will be granted a transport allowance, subject to certain regulations.

Saad said that employees below the position of general manager will receive around EGP 2,000 in monthly transport allowance.

The units in Badr City are being prepared over two phases, the first of which is 95 percent complete and will comprise 9,024 housing units, with each averaging 118 square metres in size.

Services and facilities near the housing units in Badr City include two nurseries, two health units, two basic education schools, a secondary school, a large central market and three smaller markets.

The cabinet also discussed the membership of the sports city of the NAC and the various services that will be made available for employees in the capital and its surrounding areas.

Employees will have a discount of up to 50 percent on memberships in NAC sports city, which is built over 93 feddans (96.5 acres), the cabinet statement noted.

The sports city hosts a covered stadium with a capacity of 7,000 seats, outdoor playgrounds, a hall for combat games, a hall for people with special needs, a gymnasium, a swimming pool complex and a squash building, the Cabinet said.

The sport city has a number of other facilities including football pitches, tennis courts, cafeterias and a kids’ area.