The New Capital

The New Capital is a brand new urban community located east of New Cairo in the Cairo Governorate, Egypt. It is known in Egyptian Arabic as el-ʿĀṣima el-Gedīda. As of May 2023, many important government offices and ministries moved to this exciting new city.

On April 2, 2024, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took an important oath to begin his third term in office. During this ceremony, the new capital was officially declared the home of the Egyptian government. This move marks a significant change, as many key government activities now take place in this modern and growing city.

Overview

Plans for a new city in Egypt were shared in 2015 by the housing minister at a big meeting about the country’s economy. This city is part of a big plan called Egypt Vision 2030 to help grow the country.

The new city is east of Cairo, about a half hour’s drive away. It sits on a large piece of land and is meant to help ease crowded conditions in Cairo, which has many millions of people. The city was officially named The New Capital in 2025, and there are plans to give it even more special attention in the future.

Plans

The New Capital city was designed to include special areas for government work, foreign diplomats, culture like opera houses, a busy business area, big parks, and 21 places to live. Building the city happens in steps. The first step, starting in 2016, covers a smaller part of the land and includes important buildings for government, courts, and the president, plus places for people to live and work.

The city will also have fun things like a huge park, lakes, many schools, technology areas, hospitals, places for worship, a big sports stadium, hotels, and even a theme park bigger than Disneyland. It will use smart technology with cameras, computer programs to manage resources, and an app for people to share ideas or problems.

Moving government offices to this new city took longer than planned because of delays and health issues, but by May 2023, 14 government offices were there. In April 2024, the president officially opened the city as the new home for the government.

Finance and construction

In March 2015, the Egyptian military started building a road from Cairo to where the new capital would be built. At first, a private company called Capital City Partners was supposed to build the city, but Egypt cancelled their agreement because they didn’t make progress.

Later, Egypt signed an agreement with China State Construction Engineering Corporation to study building the government part of the new capital. However, they only developed the main business area. This meant the Egyptian government had to handle most of the construction themselves. They created a company called ACUD to manage the planning, building, and selling of land in the new capital.

Landmarks

Green River Park

The Green River Park, also called Capital Park or The Green Nile, is a large park being built along the entire length of the new capital. It is designed to look like the Nile river and will stretch for 35 kilometres (22 miles). When finished, it will be twice as big as New York's Central Park. Right now, the first 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) of the park are being built.

Mosques and cathedral

In January 2019, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi opened a big mosque and a cathedral.

Al-Fattah al-Aleem Mosque

Al-Fattah al-Aleem is a large Sunni mosque where 17,000 people can gather for prayers. It also has special rooms for learning the Quran and a library.

Al Fattah Al Aliem Mosque

The Islamic Cultural Center (Grand Mosque)

The Islamic Cultural Center, also called the Grand Mosque, is the biggest mosque in Africa. It is built in a special Neo-Mamluk style and sits on a hill overlooking the new capital. It is the largest mosque in Egypt and the third largest in the Middle East.

The Nativity of Christ Cathedral

The Nativity of Christ is a big Coptic Orthodox cathedral that can hold more than 8,000 people. It is the largest cathedral in Egypt and the Middle East.

Skyscrapers and towers under construction

Many tall buildings are being built, including the Iconic Tower, which will be the tallest in Egypt and Africa.

MU10

Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ

MU7 Area

MU19

Future proposed towers

Oblisco Capitale

The Oblisco Capitale is a planned skyscraper set to open in 2030. Designed by the Egyptian firm IDIA, it will look like a Pharaonic obelisk. If built, it will be the tallest building in the world at 1,000 metres (3,300 feet), taller than the current tallest tower, Burj Khalifa.

Rank	Name	Usage	Max height	Roof height	Floors	Started	Construction status	Total area
1	The Iconic Tower	Hotel, office and residential	393.8 m (1,292 ft)	382.2 m (1,254 ft)	77	2019	Completed	260,000 m² (2,798,617 sq ft)
2	D01	Administrative and residential	196 m (643 ft)		49	2018		116,621 m² (1,255,298 sq ft)
3	C01	Office and administrative	174 m (571 ft)	?	35
4	C04		170 m (558 ft)		34
5	C07		160 m (525 ft)		32
6	C08		160 m (525 ft)		32
7	C11		160 m (525 ft)		27
8	C12		160 m (525 ft)		27
9	D02	Administrative and residential	176 m (577 ft)		45
10	D03		176 m (577 ft)		45
12	D04		160 m (525 ft)		40
13	D05		153 m (502 ft)		38
14	C05	Office and administrative	95 m (312 ft)	?	18
15	C06		95 m (312 ft)		18
16	C02		85 m (279 ft)		16
17	C03		85 m (279 ft)		16
18	C09	Hotel and office towers	55 m (180 ft)		9
19	C10	Hotel and office towers	55 m (180 ft)		9

Name	Usage	Max height	Roof height	Floors	Started	Construction status	Developer
Capital Diamond Tower	Mixed-use	260 m (853 ft)		66	2021	Under construction	Amazon Holding developments
Forbes International Tower	Mixed-use	240 m (787 ft)		55	2026	Approved	Magnom Property
Taj Tower 2	Office & commercial	230 m (755 ft)		56	2026	Approved	Taj Misr Developments
Infinity Tower	Mixed-use	200 m (656 ft)		40	2021	Under construction	Infinity for Urban Development
East Tower		185 m (607 ft)	?	45	2022		UC Developments
6ixty Iconic Tower		180 m (591 ft)	?	44			AlBorouj Masr
Taj Tower	Office & commercial	170 m (558 ft)		43			Taj Misr Developments
Quan Tower	Mixed-use	110 m (361 ft)		25	2023		Contact Developments
Central Iconic Hotel	Leisure and hospitality	~100 m (328 ft)		18	2023		Modon Developments
Double Two Tower	Mixed-use	100 m (328 ft)		23	2022		Nakheel Developments
Triton Tower		80 m (262 ft)		14			RNA Developments
Ryan Tower		75 m (246 ft)	?	15			Khaled Sabry Holding
PAVO Tower		68 m (223 ft)	?	14			Mercon Developments

Name	Usage	Max height	Roof height	Floors	Started	Construction status	Developer
Nile Business City Tower	Mixed-use	233 m (764 ft)		56	2022	Under construction	Nile Developments
Levels Business Tower		145 m (476 ft)		36	2022		Urbnlanes Developments
31North Tower		131 m (430 ft)	?	36	2021		Nile Developments
OIA Towers		111 m (364 ft)		30			EDGE Holdings
Podia Tower		110 m (361 ft)		29			Menassat Developments
Green River Tower		110 m (361 ft)	?	30	2023		Modon Developments
Obsideir Towers		110 m (361 ft)	?	29	2022		Dubai Developments
Monorail Tower		100 m (328 ft)	?	26			ERG Developments
Pyramids Business Towers		96 m (315 ft)	?	21			Pyramids Developments
I Business Park Towers		91 m (299 ft)	?	20			ARQA Developments Group
Trio V Tower		90 m (295 ft)	?	18			Nakheel Developments

Name	Usage	Max height	Roof height	Floors	Started	Construction status	Total area
Oblisco Capitale Tower	Hotel, office and residential	1,000 m (3,281 ft)		210	Exact date 2025	Approved	?	World's tallest building Projected completion 2030
Nut Tower	Office and residential	380 m (1,247 ft)		80	2026	Approved	?

Infrastructure

Transport

Air

The New Capital will have a new airport called the Capital International Airport. This airport can handle 300 passengers every hour and has space for eight airplanes. It also includes buildings for services and administration, a control tower, and a long runway for big planes. The airport covers a large area and is meant to help reduce traffic at the Cairo International Airport and the Sphinx International Airport.

Rail and roads

There is a train called the Cairo Light Rail Transit that connects Cairo to the New Capital. The train starts in one part of Cairo and splits into two lines, going to different places. In 2026, a new train called a monorail also started running between Cairo and the new capital.

Egypt also plans to build a very fast train that will go from a city near the Mediterranean Sea all the way to a city near the Red Sea, passing through the new capital and another big city.

Sport

Egypt International Olympic City

There is a large sports area being built for big international events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. It includes many different sports facilities, such as a huge football stadium. The Misr Stadium, which opened in 2024, can hold over 93,900 people, making it the biggest stadium in Egypt and the second biggest in Africa. It is expected to become the main stadium for the country.

Criticism

Many people have said that the new capital city was mostly built for wealthy families, not for families with less money. This is not the first time the Egyptian government tried to create new cities away from the crowded areas around the Nile River. But before, these cities were also too expensive for most people, so many houses stayed empty.

There are also worries about how the government is paying for the new capital. Even though the president said the government would not spend money on it, public money and loans are being used. This has made the country’s debt larger and caused prices to go up.