Satellite Image Shows Construction of Egypt's New Capital

In the vast deserts of North Africa, a new city featuring the tallest tower on the continent and the largest cathedral in the Middle East is taking shape.

Thirty miles east of Cairo, Egypt, the temporarily named New Administrative Capital (NAC), initiated by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, aims to accommodate a significant portion of Egypt's growing population, now exceeding 105 million.

Exclusive imagery provided to Newsweek by Maxar Technologies shows the state of construction on the new government district, a project designed to transfer Cairo's administrative and economic heartbeat to a more modern and sustainable environment.

Among the city's cultural and architectural highlights are a 70-story tower — already the tallest in Africa — alongside religious sites including the Middle East's largest cathedral and a grand mosque.

The development plan also includes the Green River Park, envisioned as a vast urban oasis double the size of New York's Central Park, and The Octagon, intended to be the new, expansive headquarters for Egypt's Ministry of Defense. The Capital International Airport is designed to ease congestion at Cairo's airports and serve as a new regional hub.

The Egypt International Olympic City, still in the planning stages, aims to host major international sports events with facilities like the New Administrative Capital Stadium, which will be the largest stadium in Egypt.

The NAC has yet to be given a formal name. A competition was launched on the new capital's website to choose a new name and logo for the city. No official results have yet been announced.

Some government functions have already started the transition from Cairo to the NAC. Khaled Abbas, chairman of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), told CNN last month there are already 48,000 government employees working in the NAC, mostly commuting from greater Cairo via a new electric rail line. Officials hope to eventually centralize Cairo's government and business districts in the area, which will be run by a system of A.I.-powered technologies to optimize utilities, trash collection and the flow of traffic.

The NAC is gradually coming to life, with more than 1,500 families already relocated, according to Abbas. By the end of this year, he expects the number to rise to 10,000. The city is projected to house five million residents, taking some of the pressure off Cairo, the congested and polluted capital home to 22 million people.

Still, there are concerns the NAC will not live up to its promise of being a livable option for vast swaths of Egyptians, with some Cairo residents telling Reuters they "cannot afford to live in the new city." Egypt is notorious for developing new cities in its deserts, promising to alleviate the overcrowded capital. New Cairo, a satellite city established in 2000 was built to house as many as five million people. As of 2017, fewer than 300,000 people lived within its confines.

Estimated to cost up to $60 billion over four phases of development — with much of the cost shouldered by the Egyptian military — some critics have questioned whether the NAC is an appropriate use of funds. Egypt is facing one of its worst financial crises in decades, and the economy is largely being held up by international loans.

But with phase one all but complete and construction on phase two scheduled to begin this year, the NAC is already further along than many of the world's other megaprojects. In Indonesia, where a similar development is in the process of creating an entirely new capital to replace the congested and sinking city of Jakarta, not a single building has yet to be competed despite a grand ribbon-cutting set for this summer.

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