Chairperson of the New Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) Ahmad Zaki Abdeen said that 57 embassies in Egypt sent requests to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to move to the Administrative Capital. Abdeen told Daily News Egypt that the ACUD has completed 80% of the utilities and infrastructure of the diplomatic district at the Capital. During conference held for foreign diplomats in Egypt, Abdeen said that the diplomatic area is spanning over 1,500 feddan. The conference was attended by about 250 ambassadors and diplomats. Additionally, he noted that the diplomatic district will fully operate by mid-2019. Abdeen noted that the embassies' land sizes start from 1 feddan and differ upon the request of each embassy. ” The price of square meter for embassies reaches $400 including all infrastructure and utilities such as water, sewage, electricity and roads,” Abdeen pointed out. ” The total cost of the first phase of the Administrative Capital reached EGP 300bn.” He added that the ACUD needs cashflow from diplomatic purchases to complete the district infrastructure, noting, “the money which flows in from embassies helps us to complete the infrastructure very quickly because the utilities are very costly.” No deadline for embassies to move to the administrative capital has been set yet, Abdeen elaborated. For his part, Assistant Foreign Minister for Administrative and Financial Affairs Ambassador Ismail Khairat, said that the Foreign Ministry is developing enteral designs for embassy new headquarters at the New Capital in preparation for their transfer hopefully by mid-2019. On the sidelines of the conference, Khairat informed DNE that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent letters to all embassies in Egypt inviting them to reserve their place at the New Capital. Khairat pointed out that the New Administrative Capital project is a real qualitative leap for Egypt as a global integrated city, in terms of infrastructure and intelligent buildings which are environmentally-friendly. He elaborated that the ministry is studying renting places to some embassies that will not be able to buy, adding that there is no obligation for any embassy to move to the Capital, but this will become necessary once all state institutions and ministries have moved there.
