A new capital city for Egypt?

Cairo - my home city for 7 years and Egypt's capital city for the last 1046 years. It is currently home to an estimated 20 million people and has a plethora of typical urban problems - noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution, congestion, poverty and overcrowding. It has also experienced its fair share of social and economic problems in recent years with the revolution of 2011 leaving its mark in the form of high unemployment, dropping tourist numbers, an increasing crime rate and constant fuel shortages.

So what is the new government doing? Creating a new capital city! And why? To give the people of Egypt hope for a brighter future. In 5,000 years of civilised history, Egypt's capital city has changed location 24 times, so why not again?

The plan in a nutshell

• $30 billion project
• To house 5 million people
• 21 residential districts
• 700 schools
• 1250 religious buildings
• 1.8 million metres of shopping malls
• 665 health care facilities
• Theme Park
• Sustainable plan

So the plans look pretty cool in theory. But will it work? How will Egypt fund the project? What will happen to the old capital city? Have there been any other examples of new capital cities that have worked? Read the article below to find out more. This is a very good potential case study for sustainable urban environments (Unit 3) or wealth and disparities (Unit 4)

A New New Cairo?