Construction on the 700-square-kilometre new capital, located 60km from Cairo in the area between the Cairo-Suez and Cairo-Ain Sokhna roads, started in 2015 and is set to house 6.5 million people when completed.

The city boasts a government district with 10 ministerial complexes that will house 34 ministries, in addition to the headquarters of the cabinet and the House of Representatives.

The new capital will be connected to the Greater Cairo area via various transport network systems that include the country's first monorail train.

The first phase of the monorail is set to be completed by late May 2022, while the second phase should be done by February 2023, according to previous statements by the cabinet.

The government had planned to relocate ministries and 52,300 government employees to the new capital by mid-2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced it to delay the move.

On Sunday, the Egyptian Armed Forces' Engineering Authority, which oversees construction in the NAC, announced a public contest to select names, logos, and slogans for the new capital.