Egypt Denies Canceling New Capital City Deal with UAE Investor

The Egyptian Housing Ministry has denied terminating the new Cairo Administrative Capital project's memorandum of understanding that was signed with UAE investor Capital City Partners, according to Daily News Egypt .

Ministry spokesperson Wafaa Bakry told Daily News Egypt Wednesday that the negotiations surrounding the new project "are still ongoing" and that the reports of their termination were "incorrect." The statement came after reports claiming the negotiations were cancelled started circulating.

Egypt Independent reported Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed between Egypt and the Cairo Administrative Capital project's Emirati financier Capital City Partners at Egypt's Economic Summit in March was annulled after "unsuccessful negotiations."

The report said that founding member of Capital City Partners, Mohamed Al-Abbar, "had failed to secure financing resources for the project," claiming that the businessman "had offered to secure local financing sources for a large sector of the implementation cost which was rejected by both the government and the banks."

The report also said that Egypt would move forward with the project but with a different partner and a new plan, claiming that “a sovereign state body will take on the feasibility study and blueprints for the project for a year before it is offered in a bidding process to local and international real estate developers."

In the weeks before Egypt Independent's report, other private newspapers reported the issues between Egypt and the UAE investor over the project. However, Housing Minister Mustafa Madbouly had responded then by saying the reports were not true and that "signing contracts usually takes a lot of time, so no need to worry about the project.”

The Cairo Adminstrative Capital project dubbed "The Capital Cairo," which was announced by Madbouly at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in March, was one of the most significant highlights of the economic conference, due to the project's ambitious plans.

The Capital Cairo will house the Egyptian parliament, government departments, ministries and foreign embassies which will move out of the current capital Cairo, Madbouly announced. He had added that the project will cost 45 billion dollars and take between five to seven years to complete.

“The Capital Cairo must be a model 21st century city for the region. The city will cater to the needs of Egypt’s youth and future generations,” Madbouly said in March. “It will include neighborhoods for all groups of Egyptian society and be a critical center for new employment."