Egyptian contractor Hassan Allam Construction has been awarded a design and build contract for work on a government building in Egypt’s new Capital City project.

“The company is currently evaluating bids from consultants for the design work,” a source close to the project told MEED.

The project will cost $70m and will be built within the planned ministerial complex at the proposed new Capital City.

Hassan Allam was appointed earlier this year as the main contractor for work on six buildings in the proposed ministerial district.

“We are set to start work very soon on six government buildings in the new Capital City,” the company’s CEO Hassan Allam told MEED on 21 February.

The company was recently appointed following the official withdrawal of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), which was set to build and finance the ministerial district of the Capital City.

The majority construction contracts for the first phase of Egypt’s proposed New Capital City project will be delivered using design and build contracts, the chairman of the project’s master developer told MEED earlier this month.

Ayman Ismail, the chairman of the state-controlled Administrative Capital City of Urban Development (ACCUD), told MEED on the sidelines of a conference in Cairo that “projects being directly developed by ACCUD will be contracted under the design and build model.”

“The design and build model is a favourable one for government buildings as it speeds the delivery time whilst the government maintains ownership of an asset,” said Ismail, who also added that projects in the proposed ministerial complex have also been awarded under the same model.