Egypt Announces Plans to Build New Capital

Egypt has announced plans to build a new capital by basically adding another city adjacent to the current Capital of Cairo which would be the new Administrative heart of the area. This ambitious project, which is said by officials to be necessary to stem the tide of overpopulation, is projected to cost $45Bil and take up to 7 years to complete. Eventually, the project is expected to cover 270 square miles! That's huge!

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Egypt's government announced Friday plans to build a new capital adjacent to Cairo, in a massive new project that in its first phase would cost $45 billion and take up to seven years to complete.

Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the plan at the opening of the 3-day international economic conference held in this resort city and attended by hundreds of business executives and world leaders. The aim, he said, is to alleviate congestion and overpopulation in Cairo over the next 40 years. By that time, Cairo — currently home to nearly 20 million — would have doubled in size.

Egypt is really embarking on some major infrastructure projects. I remember reading a few weeks back about a major airport project in Cairo called the "Airport City."

Cairo plans a giant USD14.5 billion airport city
But the fascinating thing about Africa is that it throws up the occasional oddball that is not easy to classify. For example the biggest single expenditure in the CAPA Airport Construction and Cap Ex database is listed as Egypt’s Cairo Airport (USD18.4 billion, more than half the total for Africa). Some of this amount is allocated to a new terminal, cargo facilities and a power plant.

But the vast majority is for an airport city, the estimated cost of which shot up from a modest (and probably appropriate) USD200 million (early 2013) to a staggering USD14.5 billion (Nov-2013) – a project that will now apparently cover 10 million square metres around Cairo Airport and which will be undertaken in several phases over seven years, with the first phase to commence in Jan-2014. The project is to include a free trade zone, 1.7 million sq m cargo zone, catering facilities, entertainment area, offices, hotels and a hospital.

Hm.m.m.mm....Something in the works in the Middle East, ATS? Maybe it's nothing but somehow I think there are some big plans for Africa with Egypt (Cairo) as the focal point; thus, the major airport hub. Also China is up in Africa like the Gold-Rush of 1849. Am I missing something or am I seeing a conspiracy when there isn't one? What says ATS?

news.yahoo.com...

Africa is the new mineral resource frontier.

You have crappy countries with no human rights red tape to make costs higher and populations so desperate they'll work in unsafe filthy conditions just for food. These places have all sorts of unexploited treasures considered too dangerous because of the political lay of the land by western governments.

China doesn't seem deterred by all this however. Egypt is possibly planning to set itself up as the frontier state for all of this.

originally posted by: markosity1973
Africa is the new mineral resource frontier.

You have crappy countries with no human rights red tape to make costs higher and populations so desperate they'll work in unsafe filthy conditions just for food. These places have all sorts of unexploited treasures considered too dangerous because of the political lay of the land by western governments.

China doesn't seem deterred by all this however. Egypt is possibly planning to set itself up as the frontier state for all of this.

Interesting viewpoint. I think China sees Africa as it's trade ultimate partner. In the old world, China and Africa traded heavily by use of the Silk Route which extended from China, thru the Middle East, and into Africa. I'm not sure which Chinese dynasty; maybe the Tang or the Zhou dynasty(ies). I think China is renewing this, aptly named, Silk Route economy as shown by staggering amount of Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa.

Wasn't Egypt in some financial trouble not that long ago? Now, how can they afford to build this city? I suppose with an unreal world economy it isn't hard, just sell bonds to people saying that everything is really good now.

Whew! When I read the OP's title I half expected the announcement to be on top of Jerusalem.

Glad it is not.

Lol

P