The local Hassan Allam Construction has been awarded a major infrastructure contract for the first phase of the New Capital City project in Egypt.

The company has been appointed as part of a joint venture with the local Orascom Construction to carry out water, sewage, electrical and road infrastructure for 3 million square metres of the New Capital City, according to a company statement.

“Work has commenced on site, and is required to be completed on a fast track basis. Project completion is expected to be in 18 months,” said the statement.

In March, MEED reported that the company had started work on $783m-worth of projects in the New Capital City.

A company spokesperson at the time told MEED the firm is currently carrying out infrastructure roadwork, and building a hotel and a conference hall.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts were directly negotiated with the Housing, Utilities & Urban Development Ministry, says the spokesperson.

It is understood the local firm is working on 60 kilometres of roads, a 500-room hotel and a 20,000-seat conference hall.

Egypt’s New Capital City project, which was announced during the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in Sharm el-Sheikh in March last year, has been central to the government’s promises to improve living standards and press ahead with major housing, infrastructure and transport schemes.

Earlier this year a company comprising the Housing, Utilities & Urban Development Ministry and the Armed Forces was established to serve as the master developer for the proposed New Capital City project.