The contract for the partnership to construct a new administrative capital in Egypt will be announced within days, housing minister, Moustafa Madbouly, was quoted as saying by state-news agency MENA on Thursday.

Egypt’s government signed an MOU with UAE-based Capital City partners Limited to build a new capital city east of Cairo, during an economic conference held last month to attract foreign investors into an economy battered by four years of political upheaval.

The MOU stipulates that a final agreement must be concluded between the parties within a period of 50 days, said investment minister, Ashraf Salman in a televised interview in mid-March.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $45 billion, and should be completed in 5 to 7 years, Madbouly said last month.

The new capital project is expected to cover an area of 700 square kilometres and create around 1.75 million permanent jobs, according to the website.