Translation: Amal Abdel Wahab
The New Administrative Capital (NAC) is considered Egypt’s most popular city for investment at the moment, with all recent indicators showcasing it as the capital of the future. The Egyptian government seeks to make the new capital a full-service city, in an effort to attract local, GCC, and global investments.
Spread over an area of 170,000 acres, the new capital is expected to be home to 6.5 million residents. In Phase 1, the target population amounts to some 0.5 million people in addition to around 40,000-50,000 public employees who will be relocated to the new headquarters, with plans to increase the capacity to 100,000 employees after the first 3 years.
In this feature, Invest-Gate spotlights some of NAC’s benefits that make it an investment gateway.
1- A Competitive Environment for Investment
The Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) obliges real estate developers and construction companies to follow a specific project implementation approach that falls in line with the latest global standards and advancements to attract internal and external investments.
This has incentivized real estate developers to provide special offers to customers, resulting in unprecedented construction innovations.
This competition has significantly served the investment ecosystem in the NAC, particularly in terms of unit prices, as well as prices of commercial, administrative, and medical units. The competition made real estate developers sacrifice part of their own profit margin for the best interests of investors upon purchase, hence guaranteeing a return on investment upon sale.
2- High Return on Investment (ROI)
Talking of ROI, the new capital is an exception as evidenced by the keenness of big or new real estate developers pumping billions of pounds to invest there. Noteworthy to pinpoint, NAC’s real estate market attracted local, GCC, and foreign investors. These companies are the most knowledgeable about the market and do not invest randomly.
This proves that these firms do recognize the tempting profit margin this unique area offers. The ROI is expected to more than double after the government transition to the new capital.
During 2020, the new capital achieved 70% of the sales volume through the entire real estate market, and by the end of 2022, the investment volume exceeded EGP 1 trillion.
3- A Capital Attractive to Tourists
Egypt’s new metropolis has several pillars for attracting tourists from all over the world. For example, it contains an international airport that would facilitate the entry and departure of tourists, an embassies district that will house all embassies, in a first, in addition to the “Downtown” area, Egypt’s most prominent commercial complex that will attract local and global investors.
Among other tourist attractions in the capital is the $3- billion Iconic Tower, the highest tower in Africa at 400 meters, the 1,000-acre Green River that is parallel to the Nile River, and the 1,000-acre Central Park, which will include theatres, lakes, restaurants, cafes, among other entertainment activities.
4- Many Residential Projects
Buildings make up 40% of the new capital’s total area and will include 20 residential districts offered at different prices that cater to all customers.
The Residential District of the new capital houses the best-serviced residential districts divided into several stages and Stage One is 80% complete so far.
Further, the new capital includes a wide variety of luxurious, average, and above-average residential units. For example, “Capital Residence” is an R3 neighborhood and contains 24,000 units, the R5 district or “The New Garden City” is expected to absorb 23,000 residential units and 2,000 hotel units, while the R7 or “The Golden Square” is considered one of the most exquisite districts in the city, being developed by major developers and houses many compounds.
5- Smart Infrastructure
Talking of investment, the new capital’s infrastructure is a factor that cannot be overlooked, as more than EGP 100 billion or $6.5 billion was invested in infrastructure, excluding public facilities.
All of the new capital’s infrastructure, namely water, sewerage, and electricity are entirely smart and managed by top international specializing firms. Utility projects of Stage 1 are now complete, and four international consultancy offices have already submitted bids to make plans for the facilities of the second and third stages.
Moreover, the capital contains special sewerage networks that effectively discharge rainwater, a monorail, and the electric train connecting the smart capital with the 3rd line of the Cairo Metro. All infrastructure factors have been thoroughly considered in a bid to attract more local investments.
6- The Sustainable Capital
The NAC is designed to be an international, smart, sustainable, and eco-friendly city and aims to be among the most sustainable cities in the world whilst improving the quality of life and welfare of residents.
As a sustainable city, 60%-70% of the smart capital is covered by solar panels to provide clean energy to reduce polluting emissions. Furthermore, it adopts a waste recycling strategy that mitigates environmental risks and makes it an ideal place to live or invest. All of the new capital’s waste is set to be recycled and a 10-stage water treatment plant was built to irrigate and feed the Green River project.
In a similar vein, the sustainable capital has been designed with green, open space capitation of 15 meters in line with the global indexes of the quality of life and further includes water bodies.
7- The Central Business District (CBD)
Constructed with initial investments of $3.4 bn, the Central Business District consists of a number of commercial and administrative towers, investment and financial institutions, as well as a banking district. Moreover, it includes the Iconic Tower, which will house 12 commercial complexes along with residential and hotel buildings, and the Central Bank.
The commercial artery of the once‑in‑a‑generation enterprise is set to handle all things financial and investments.
8- International Universities in the NAC
The new mega urban development project includes major, prestigious educational venues. At the time being, it contains 6 universities that have 12,000 students, and the construction of other universities is underway. Study in one of these universities began in 2018 and the graduation of the first batch has already taken place. Among these universities is the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), the British Coventry University, the British University of Hertfordshire (UH) in Egypt, the European University in the NAC, and the European University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
9- Diverse Cities
As an integrated capital, the NAC will include the following districts:
Spanning an area of 92 acres, the Sports city is one of NAC’s top attractions. Built at EGP 22 billion, the Sports city is the largest, most prestigious sports complex in the world, being a city of world records.
Most of the city’s construction works have been completed and it is set to be delivered to the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports during the second half of 2023.
Work is underway to establish an industrial zone at the south of Ain Sokhna Road. The zone is dedicated to green and eco-friendly industries and is predicted to generate strong demand from investors.
The new capital will include the Knowledge City, which is considered a cultural project. The city will utilize advanced information technology across all of its sectors, including means of transport or building design. It will be powered by renewable energy sources such as solar power and will include water treatment plants.
Established in tandem with global standards, the Medical City will provide high-quality health services. It will further utilize robots and draw on specialist medical expertise. The EGP 20 billion Medical City, which will be named Capital Med, is set to be the largest healthcare provider in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, the Egyptian government said. Extending over an area of 110 acres, the project houses 2,000 beds and is set to be delivered during a five-year period.
- The Arts and Culture City
The Arts and Culture City was built in record time to be a hub for artistic, intellectual, and cultural creativity in line with the highest international specifications and the most luxurious architectural designs.
Built over an area of 127 acres, the Arts and Culture City will feature the new Opera House, a number of theaters, exhibition halls, libraries, museums, and art galleries showcasing different traditional and contemporary arts, namely music, drawing, sculpture, and handmade products, among others.