'Future City will be a completely new concept,' Ibrahim Mahlab, chairman and chief executive officer of Arab Contractors, told MEED on 25 July in Cairo. 'It will be an ultra-modern city that will accommodate at least 200,000 people.'

The city will be built on a 46 million-square-metre plot of land at a location bordering Cairo's existing city limits, and is planned to be linked to the rest of the city through a rail-based modern public transport system, Mahlab said. The multi-billion-dollar development will offer a mix of commercial, residential and office real estate. Arab Contractors will provide land to developers and is securing support from local banks and international investors for the project. Construction on certain elements of the scheme is planned to begin as early as 2006, Mahlab said.

In an attempt to deal with urban migration and high population growth, several new cities and satellite districts have been built in the greater Cairo area to direct economic activities and population away from the core city.

Greater Cairo is estimated to be home to about 20 million people.