Up to one third of the shares of the  Administrative Capital for Urban Development, the company responsible for building the new administrative capital in East Cairo, will be floated in an upcoming IPO at a date yet to be determined, according to the company’s Chairman Ayman Ismail, speaking at a conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt on Sunday.

The Administrative Capital for Urban Development is a private company with public ownership, whereby the Armed Forces and NUCA own a third each, and the remainder is set to be offered publicly.

Over 2,500 acres of land would be offered to investors in the new capital in January, at a 25% discount on prices, he added. The chairman highlighted that while the first phase of the project will focus on governmental administrative activities, future phases will focus on integrated development, with a focus on cultural activities and growing specific industries, such as film industries and and medical tourism.

Following preliminary infrastructure, actual construction for buildings in the capital will commence in the second quarter of 2017, according to Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Mostafa Madbouly. Madbouly further stated that the idea of building the new capital had been part of the Greater Cairo Development Strategy for 2052, penned four years ago under his chairmanship of the General Organization of Physical Planning. He noted that while Egypt’s population had grown exponentially since the plan, it continues to occupy only 6.5% of the total area of Egypt.