A bunch of French companies are keen on investing in Egypt's new capital city, 45km (28 miles) east of Cairo, said the Administrative Capital for Urban Development's (ACUD) chairman on Monday. Ahmed Zaki Abdeen made these remarks after receiving a delegation of 50 Egyptian and French companies visiting the new capital, where they inspected the ongoing flagships. The delegation said the new capital is the first smart city in Egypt. "A number of French companies have already joined forces with Egyptian contractors to invest in the new capital, where they are looking to obtain land plots to establish new giant projects," Abdeen said. The anticipated new capital will include the governmental and the diplomatic districts as well as arts and culture city. The new capital is part of the Egyptian government's plan to expand urban areas to deal with the state's rapid population growth and improve the nation's infrastructure. The city is set to be a 270-square-mile hub with 21 residential districts to accommodate five million people. It will feature 1,250 mosques and churches as well as 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.
