Egyptian construction firm Al-Abd says the amount of its businesses in the country's new administrative capital had increased to 800 million Egyptian pounds ($49.7 million). "We have been mandated to execute major utilities works in the first phase of the new capital's government district, at a cost exceeding 250 million pounds," managing director Said Fattouh told Amwal Al Ghad on Thursday. The utilities works will include a number of irrigation and sanitation networks as well as water lines, Fattouh said. "We have been tasked with carrying out 36 buildings in the new capital's sixth residential district, at a cost approaching 580 million pounds, he added. These buildings are set to be completely delivered within a 13-month timeframe, Fattouh said. Located 45km (28 miles) east of Cairo over 170,000 feddans, the anticipated new capital city is part of the Egyptian government's plan to expand urban areas to deal with the rapid population growth and improve the nation's infrastructure. The new capital will be a 270-square-mile hub with 21 residential districts to accommodate five million people. The city is set to feature 1,250 mosques and churches, besides 5,000-seat conference centre, nearly 2,000 schools and colleges, over 600 medical facilities, and a park that is projected to be the world's largest.
