Egypt establishes Capital City master developer

29 March 2016

Some developers have started negotiations with representatives from newly established government entity

A company made up of Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development and the Armed Forces has been established to serve as the master developer for the proposed New Capital City project just outside of Cairo.

Several local developers have told MEED the government has created a company and is waiting to announce its head before revealing the firm to the public.

Some developers have told MEED they have already started negotiating with representatives of the newly formed government entity that will overlook the development of the scheme.

The New Capital City was initially set to be developed by a newly formed UAE company called Capital City Partners in March last year, but following the breakdown of the agreement with UAE realtor Mohamed Alabbar, the Egyptians have opted for the Chinese to press ahead with the first phase.

The agreement with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) to take part in the first phase of the capital city scheme was signed in September 2015 with Egypt’s investment minister Ashraf Salman.

A joint venture of the local Arab Contractors and Petrojet and CSCEC recently submitted designs for the first phase, according to two sources close to the project.

The joint venture agreement, which was signed in January, will see the group carry out all the work of the phase.

A spokesperson from Arab Contractors told MEED the joint venture is also seeking local subcontractors for other infrastructure work. The team is set to start infrastructure works at an estimated cost of $320m.

The first phase, which is set to start in April, will comprise six government buildings on an area spanning 214,000 square metres and an Olympic park.

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