Egypt signed on April 28 a USD 3 bn loan with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to finance the designing and establishment of the Central Business District (CBD) in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), east Cairo, Invest-Gate reports.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar, who said that the country will receive USD 834 mn as the first tranche of the loan, according to an official statement released on the same date of signing the contract.
El Gazzar said the first tranche will cover the cost of designing and building seven tall towers, covering a total area of 600,000 square meters.
The CBD will comprise 20 towers, including a 385-meter-tall tower that is slated to be the tallest in Africa, the minister added.
Spanning across 170 acres, NAC will encompass 20 residential districts expected to accommodate 6.5 mn people, featuring a 650-kilometer road network, an international airport, and an electric train to link it to 10th of Ramadan and El Salam cities.
In January, Egypt agreed on a USD 1.2 bn deal with the Export-Import Bank of China (EximBank) to finance the electric train. It will boast 11 stations and will cover 67 kilometers, with the first phase of construction set to begin by the end of 2019. All the on-site construction works will be carried out by five Egyptian contracting companies before the bank start working on the project’s signals, communications, and control, according to an earlier statement.
