Egypt’s new capital city rises in desert

The Egyptian Armed Forces' Engineering Authority announced a contest to propose names, logos, and slogans for the New Administrative Capital with all citizens eligible to bid.

Egypt is preparing to open the fourth-generation new capital, being constructed since 2015 over 170,000 feddans, by the end of this year and to relocate tens of thousands of employees there.

The new capital, located east of Cairo, is set to house 6.5 million people and host all ministries, parliament, government institutions as well as residential units and all services.

The engineering authority, which undertakes mega government projects nationwide, invited "all Egyptian people" to send their proposals to choose a name and a slogan for the new capital, as well as an innovative logo and distinguished "visual identity," according to a statement by the Ministry of Defence.

Citizens can submit their proposals by the deadline of November 18. A committee of experts, intellectuals and writers will sort and examine the proposals.

The designed "visual identity" for the new capital should "reflect the state's vision regarding the establishment of new smart cities and the advancement of society through science, art, innovation, sustainable development, and modern technology," the statement read.

The contest "comes within the framework of the Armed Forces' keenness to benefit from the creativity of the Egyptian people in national projects that it supervises and as part of preparations for inaugurating the New Administrative Capital," the statement added.