New Cairo
القاهرة الجديدة | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 30°02′N 31°28′E / 30.03°N 31.47°E | |
Country | Egypt |
Governorate | Cairo |
Metropolitan area | Greater Cairo |
Government | |
• Type | Development Agency |
• Chairman | Amin Ghoneim |
Area | |
• Total | 343 km2 (132 sq mi) |
Elevation | 271 m (889 ft) |
Population (2023)[1] | |
• Total | 318,092 |
• Density | 930/km2 (2,400/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+3 (EST) |
Area code | (+20) 2 |
New Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة الجديدة el-Qāhera el-Gedīda) is a satellite city within the metropolitan area of Cairo, Egypt. Administratively, it is part of the Eastern Area of Cairo,[2] administered by the New Urban Communities Authority.[3] The city was established in 2000 by merging three 'new' towns (The First, Third and Fifth Settlements, translit. Al-Tagammu' al-awwal, al-thalith, al-khames, Arabic:التجمع الأول والثالث والخامس),[4] originally on an area of about 67,000 acres which had grown to 85,000 acres by 2016.[3]
According to the 2017 census, New Cairo's three qisms (Qahira al-Gadida Awwal, Thani, Thalith) had a combined population of 297,387 residents (also see population section below).[5][6] This is in stark contrast to the New Urban Communities Authority's (NUCA) undated population estimate of 1.5 million inhabitants and a target population of 4 million inhabitants.[7] However, the same source contradicts this claim where it states 70,000 homes as built,[7] leading to an impossibly high average of 21 people per home. The lower population figure translates into a more realistic 4 people per home.
New Cairo is built in the Eastern Desert to the east of the Cairo Ring Road and the modern 1950s extension of Nasr City, on a plateau that ranges in elevation between 250 and 307 metres (820 and 1,007 ft) above sea level.[8]
The city could eventually host a population of 5 million.[9] When compared to 6th of October, also built with the hopes of alleviating the strain on Cairo, more homes are being rented out in New Cairo.[10]
On 27 April 2016, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated the new headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior in New Cairo. The complex covers about 52,000 square metres (560,000 sq ft).[11]
New Cairo, like most new cities in Egypt, is not administratively a city under Local Administration Law, rather a group of three qisms (police wards) attached to the Eastern Area of Cairo proper: Al-Qahira al-Gadida Awwal, Thani, and Thalith (New Cairo 1st, 2nd, and 3rd).[2] New Cairo is jointly administered by the Ministry of Housing's New Urban Communities Authority through a subsidiary agency (gehaz al-Qahira al-Gadida), and the Cairo Governorate.
According to the 2017 census New Cairo's three qisms had a combined population of 297,387 residents:[5][6]
Qism | Code 2017 | Population |
---|---|---|
Qâhira al-Gadîda 1, al- | 014200 | 135,834 |
Qâhira al-Gadîda 2, al- | 014300 | 90,668 |
Qâhira al-Gadîda 3, al- | 014400 | 70,885 |
Al-Qahira al-Gadida Awwal had 135,834 residents across its four shiakhas (quarters):[5]
Shiakha | Code 2017 | Population |
---|---|---|
Jâmi`a al-Amrîkiyya, and al-Rawḍa, al- | 014204 | 451 |
Narjis, and al-Mustathmirîn al-janûbiyya, al- | 014202 | 15,175 |
Tajammu` 5, al- | 014201 | 36,830 |
Yâsamîn et al-Banafsij, and al-Mustathmirîn al-shamâliyya, al- | 014203 | 83,378 |
Al-Qahira al-Gadida Thani had 90,668 residents across its three shiakhas:[5][6]
Shiakha | Code 2017 | Population |
---|---|---|
Akâdimiyyat al-Shurṭa, and al-Mîrâj | 014303 | 2,928 |
Firdaws, and al-Kawthar, al- | 014302 | 24,010 |
Riḥâb, and al-Mustathmirûn, al- | 014301 | 63,730 |
Al-Qahira al-Gadida Thalith had 70,885 residents across its five shiakhas:[5][6]
Shiakha | Code 2017 | Population |
---|---|---|
Andalus, al- | 014405 | 330 |
Anshiṭa, al- | 014403 | 1 |
Iskân Mubarak li-l-Shabâb | 014402 | 46,421 |
Manṭiqa al-Ṣinâ`iyya, al- | 014404 | 59 |
Qaṭṭâmiyya, al- | 014401 | 24,074 |
Of particular significance to geologists is the Petrified Forest Protected Area, located in the vicinity of New Cairo. It is a protected site.[12]
There are dozens of factories in New Cairo.[13][14] GE is working with the American University in New Cairo on energy initiatives.[15] El Sewedy Electric has its headquarters in the Fifth Settlement of New Cairo.[16]
The city is connected to other cities by a vast network of bus lines, and construction has begun for a monorail line that connects the city with the Cairo suburb of Nasr City to the west, and the New Administrative Capital to the east.[17] The city gets its drinking water from a water plant in Obour City, nearby.[18]
A branch of Al Ahly SC is currently under construction in the eastern part of the city.[19] There is also a championship golf course with tennis facilities lies in the Kattameya section of New Cairo.[20][21]
At the entrance of New Cairo is Cairo Festival City, a 285 hectare (700 acres) real estate development which has parks, games, pools, gardens, walkways, business office space, a large mall and a dancing fountain.[22] In addition to that, there are many other malls in New Cairo including Point 90, Downtown Kattameya, Porto Cairo, Emerald Plaza and Park mall, in addition to numerous other, smaller malls.
Demand for real estate in New Cairo has been very high, with prices per meter for apartments averaging around E£10,000, and for villas E£19,000,[23] and it has continued increasing, especially after the construction of the New Administrative Capital, to which New Cairo is close. The government has also moved many services and administrations to the city, the most notable of which were the Traffic Administration offices of Nasr City, Heliopolis and New Cairo (which was previously located in El Shorouk) in 2020, as they were all moved into one three-floor building in the southern part of the city.
The city is home to two professional football clubs who play their home matches in the city: ENPPI SC formed in 1985, and plays at Petrosport Stadium in New Cairo, and the other team is Pyramids FC which plays their home matches and have their training facilities in 30 June Stadium in New Cairo.
Although the previous teams are based in New Cairo, they don't really represent the city or carry its name. But recently two new semi professional teams that carry the names of neighbourhoods from the city have joined the Egyptian fourth division league. The two teams are 1st Settlement Youth and Katameya Petrosport Club.
There are several mosques in New Cairo, but currently only one church, the Virgin Mary and St. Bishoy Coptic Church in the Fifth Settlement.[24] The city is also home to a Coptic monastery, the Patmos Monastery of St. John the Beloved.[25] In September 2016, the president approved the construction of a new Coptic Orthodox church in the city.[26]
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