Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities follows up on projects underway in the new urban community, West Qena City, covering nearly 8,971.11 acres, Invest-Gate reports.

The first phase of the project spans 1,400 acres and includes residential, educational, commercial, and administrative facilities.

The minister stated that West Qena is a fourth-generation city close to Qena, about five km away. With a target population of 550,000, the city is served by the Western Desert Road between Qena and Luxor.

Ayman Rashad, Head of the New Qena City Development Authority, said that the 2023/24 budget for West Qena City is EGP 225 mn.

The housing projects include completing 30 social housing buildings with 720 units from the presidential initiative. Also, 87 out of 106 buildings are done in phase four, and six out of 30 buildings completed so far for the Sakan Misr project.

Service buildings finished or underway include a market, nursery, school, health clinic, and police and fire stations. A 300-worshiper mosque is under construction near the villa area.

For utilities, Rashad noted that over 97% of water, drainage, irrigation, and road networks were complete for the 1,400-acre first phase.

An 8,320-m conveyor line is 99% finished. Infrastructure works have started on 300 acres overlooking the desert road to attract investors.

The first phase 34,500 cubic meter per day water purification plant is under construction to bring capacity up to 172,500 total planned capacity.