Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar has said that more than US $5 billion has been invested into the New Garden City project. Located in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) in the heart of Cairo, the community neighborhood project will boast more than 23,000 homes when it is complete.

According to a report by Daily News Egypt, the project will be developed in three phases. Located 45km east of Cairo, the New Capital is part of the Egyptian government’s plan to expand urban areas to deal with the country’s rapid population growth and improve the nation’s infrastructure.

The project is expected to occupy an area of 4.1m sqm and will house several villas, luxury houses and a five-star hotel besides other educational, sports, commercial, entertainment, and medical facilities.

The minister explained that work in the New Capital’s towers area is proceeding at a record rate, with a floor being poured at a rate of five days. He noted that the Iconic Tower has reached 120m, before stating that construction works on the other 20 skyscrapers in the NAC are running in parallel.

El Gazzar remarked that the Egyptian building code was modified in order to construct the New Capital’s skyscrapers, and stated that the American building code was used in the construction of these towers.

The original neighbourhood of Garden City – located in the heart of Cairo – houses elite families and foreigners as well as foreign embassies, in addition to upscale hotels and restaurants, the report said.