Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar said works started on installing the reinforced concrete for the foundations of Iconic Tower, Africa’s tallest building in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), Invest-Gate reports.

At the 385-meter tower’s site, 18,500 cubic meters of cement were poured within 40 continuous hours, instead of the planned 80 hours, he said during Egypt Investment Forum on March 3.

Developed in collaboration with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), Iconic Tower’s concrete work marks a remarkable achievement in the largest concrete molding process carried out outside China, El Gazzar noted.

As part of the National Strategic Plan for Egypt in 2052, the government aims to double the existing urban areas to reach 14%. This will be achieved through a number of development axes represented by a national road network that is currently being implemented, in addition to the 14 new cities that have recently been launched, he stated.

El Gazzar pointed out that New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) has managed to develop more than 10,000 acres in the new cities in the past four years, revealing that over 900 land plots have been made available for services purposes on a total area of 3,000 acres, in addition to dedicating 80,000 acres for investment projects during the same period.

Besides, 709,000 low-income housing units are being implemented in order to bridge the gap between supply and demand in the Egyptian market, he added.

Meanwhile, the minister confirmed that the total quantity of potable water produced by the public sector stands at 10.5 bn cubic meters annually, through 2,730 state-owned stations, explaining that the government pumps numerous investments for drinking water production and safe disposal of sewage.