File photo of the parliament building in the New Administrative Capital
Egypt's Local Development Minister Mahmoud Shaarawy said Sunday the New Administrative Capital is seen as a major civilizational leap, to be attributed to the current political administration in history.
Inspecting the new Local Development Ministry premises in the new capital, Shaarawy said that the investments in the new city will pay off for the coming generations, saying that the relocation to the New Administrative Capital will mark a beginning for a modern era for the updated governmental services provided to the citizens.
The Local Development Ministry, along with other ministries and governmental agencies, are planned to be relocated to the New Administrative Capital later on this year.
Shaarawy also praised the efforts of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority’s efforts for conducting the running projects in the New Administrative Capital, despite the current challenges, emerged for the global outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.
The 700-square-kilometre New Administrative Capital, located 60km from Cairo in the area between the Cairo-Suez and Cairo-Ain Sokhna roads, was launched in 2015 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and is set to house 6.5 million people.
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.
The new capital was due to be inaugurated by mid-2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced it to delay the move till mid-2021. In April 2020, El-Sisi instructed the government to reschedule the inauguration of all national mega-projects planned for last year, including the new capital and the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Short link: