El-Gazzar’s remarks came during his speech at the Story of the Homeland conference on Sunday, where he highlighted Egypt’s urban development map for 2023, according to a statement by the housing ministry.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the conference on Saturday in the New Administrative Capital and will conclude on Monday.

The first day focused on economic topics, while the second addressed urban development and energy; the final day covered social justice and health topics.

During his speech, El-Gazzar stated that the urbanism rate in Egypt had reached 48.5 percent.

This is a positive indicator of quality of life and economic development, El-Gazzar explained, adding that it also reflects increased investment in newly developed areas.

Between 2020-2023, Egypt sold 80,000 acres of land worth EGP 6.5 billion, in contrast to the no more than 5,000 acres sold in 2014, the minister pointed out.

In December 2022, the housing ministry launched its first-ever online system allowing the public to reserve available plots of land.

Egypt is building 24 new fourth-generation cities across the country that will accommodate 32 million people, El-Gazzar said, adding that there are plans to build 14 more.

According to the minister, Egypt has invested EGP 1.3 trillion in cities from 2014 to 2023

Of this, EGP 975 billion – or 75 percent – has been allocated for the construction and development of fourth-generation cities, he explained.

Meanwhile, EGP 325 billion – 25 percent – has been dedicated to improving and enhancing the efficiency of existing cities.