Egypt is set to construct 20 new cities of the fourth generation in bid to improve life quality, increase residential area and absorb population surge in the most populous Arab country.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostapha Madbouly, confirmed the reports and said that the county’s new Urban Communities Authority of the Ministry of Housing will build the cities in a total area 243,600 hectares and is expected to accommodate about 30 million people.
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Fourth generation cities
These new cities will be located in the provinces of Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia, Matrouh, Daqahliya, Beheira, Port Said, North Sinai, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, Qena, Luxor and Aswan, while the largest such city is the New Administrative Capital, east of the capital Cairo.
Cairo-based planning expert, Saif al-Ddin Farag, said that the fourth generation cities are integrated cities in terms of availability of services and the use of advanced technologies in infrastructure and facilities.
“The establishment of 20 fourth-generation cities is a good start. Egypt certainly needs to build these cities, using the latest technologies to provide a better life to Egyptians in addition to providing millions of jobs, as only 7% of Egypt’s territory is currently occupied. The establishment of the new cities will attract and redistribute people across the country,” said Saif al-Ddin Farag.
Egypt’s population
The new cities will house a new Administrative Capital, distinctive residential plots of land, integrated urban projects and malls, residential projects, integrated urban communities, wholesale market, dry port and a city for craftsmen, social housing units, service projects, seawater, desalination planet, industrial zone and logistics areas.
Egypt currently has a population of more than 100 million, making it the 13th most populated country in the world. Only seven percent of Egypt’s urban territory is currently fit for occupancy. This has led to high population density, especially in provinces such as Cairo, Alexandria and Giza. As a result, New Urban Communities Authority aims to increase this percentage to 14 by the year 2050 .
