The Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities announced in a press release Egypt’s biggest real estate project to date, the iCity. The project will be constructed through a partnership between Egyptian Mountain View and  Saudi Sisbain, reported Invest Gate.

Investment for iCity is estimated at EGP 32 billion project ($3.6 billion), and will be located in new Cairo. Plans include an integrated urban society, with 18 thousand units, to meet the requirements of sustainable development in Egypt, according to the global standards and criteria.

The project aims at attracting foreign investments to provide modern housing units at competitive prices, and to create more than 200 thousand jobs directly and indirectly, over a total area of 500 acres.

iCity is considered to be a paramount example of strategic partnership between public and private sectors in Egypt, where the partnership for the project is 60% for Mountain View – Sisbain, and 40% for Egypt’s Ministry of Housing (represented by the New Urban Communities Authority- NUCA )  

The project’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed during 2015’s Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, where it aims at pushing forward development and investment in the real estate sector through the provision of modern housing units at competitive prices.

Dar Al Mimar Consulting & Engineering (DMG) in agreement with CallisonRTKL Associates, are working on the project designs.

The project includes several ideas that are being implemented using smart technology, such as the iVilla, which makes good use of spaces in an innovative way, allow for the same features as ordinary villas, but in the size of an apartment, starting from 100 up to 500 square meters, with a private entrance and independent garden.

The announcement took place at a special event in the presence of the Minister of Investment, Ministry of Housing officials, and a number of public figures.