ISSUE FOR DISCUSSION NEW EGYPTIAN CAPITAL CITY

THE NATIONAL VISION FOR AN EGYPTIAN RENAISSANCE
US- based design firm Skid more, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) says Egypt’s new
45$bn capital city will be designed and built to meet the needs of a modern city with a
burgeoning economy
ARCHITECTS: SOM
Announced during the Egyptian Economic Development Conference held in Sharm EI
Sheikh, the Capital Cairo project is a collaborative effort between Egyptian Ministry of
Housing and Capital City Partners Ltd, a private fund of global investors with input from
SOM.
Led by Phillip Enquist FAIA, Partner in Charge of SOM’s City Design Practice, Daniel
Ringelstein , Director of Urban Planning in SOM’s London office, and George J.
Efstathiou FAIA, RIBA Consulting Managing Partner, SOM city planners developed the
initial framework and core principles of a sustain
able new city. Designed in harmony with the local environment and shaped by the
natural landscape, the vision for this new city was created to specifically meet the needs
of a modern city with a burgeoning economy.
The new city will alleviate pressure on Greater Cairo’s struggling infrastructure. The
city’s population is expected to double by 2050, which will bring the Egyptian capital
to a grinding halt. Around a third of the 700km2 new Capital Cairo project will be set
aside for preserved natural areas and one of the largest city park systems in the world,
and the new city will be linked to historic Cairo through extensive public transit links.
The city vision allows for flexibility to respond and adapt to the regional economic
trends over the course of many decades, and the vision has been carefully planned to
accommodate a growing population, from over seven million people across all income
groups, when fully realised .