Consultants are tendering for design work on Egypt’s new capital city project. The fast-track scheme is the largest in the country and the first phase is expected to cost $45bn to develop.

Firms are understood to be competing for advancing the masterplan of the city, the infrastructure design, and architecture for the residential buildings and commercial centres. US-based Skidmore Owings & Merrill prepared the concept masterplan.

The design work will involve developing a framework for the entire 700-square kilometre city and more advanced design work for an 18-sq km pilot project.

MEED reported in early April that construction work on the first buildings is expected to start in the middle of 2015.

The new city is expected to have a population of 5 million people and create 1.7 million jobs. It will be built 45 kilometres east of Cairo and 80km from Suez.

According to the website dedicated to the project, the development will comprise:

• 40,000 hotel rooms
• 16 sq km of airport space
• 490 sq km of land for development
• 21 residential districts
• 91 sq km of energy farms
• 5.5 sq km of business districts

It is understood the project will be developed entirely through foreign funding, with the first phase expected to cost up to $45bn

The scheme is being developed by the government with a new venture founded by Eagle Hills board member and chairman of UAE’s Emaar Properties Mohammed Alabbar, called Capital City Partners.

Egypt’s Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly officially announced the details of the scheme during his presentation at the Egypt Economic Development Conference, which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh in mid-March.