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WORLD NEWS Saturday 17 November 2018

With new Egypt capital being built, what becomes of Cairo?

By HAMZA HENDAWI ment, a wave of construc- built the new capital, but Egyptians.” Prices tell a will take draconian laws to
Associated Press tion unprecedented in if Egyptians don’t see an different story. The small- keep the new city distinct,
CAIRO (AP) — Billboards modern-day Egypt,” Prime improvement in their living est apartment there — 120 he said.
across Cairo advertise lux- No one knows how Cairo
ury homes with “breathtak- will be impacted by a new
ing” views in compounds capital and the shift of the
with names like “La Verde” seat of power outside of
or “Vinci” in Egypt’s new the city for the first time
capital that is under con- since the Muslim conquest
struction in the desert, in the 7th Century.
miles from the Nile-side city Many government build-
which has been the seat of ings in Cairo, for example,
power for more than 1,000 are palaces and mansions
years. confiscated by the social-
Often, what lies behind ist government of the 1950s
the billboards are Cairo’s and 1960s. In theory, they
most overcrowded neigh- could be renovated and
borhoods, with shoddily turned into museums or
built homes and dirt roads hotels, proponents argue.
frequently inundated with But then, many such empty
sewage water. architectural treasures are
A city of some 20 million already left to fall apart or
people combining charm even torn down.
and squalor, Cairo may The government is renovat-
soon witness an exodus ing some of Cairo’s illegally
by well-heeled residents, built neighborhoods. But in
state employees and for- In this Oct. 23, 2018 photo, a man rides his motorbike as others wait for a bus under a billboard one case, it razed a run-
eign embassies to the New promoting a new residential housing compound, in Cairo, Egypt. down district and moved
Administrative Capital, as Associated Press out residents after com-
the vast project in the des- pensating them to make
ert is provisionally known. It Minister Mustafa Madbou- conditions and services, he square meters — is expect- way for a high-end district.
will be the latest phase in ly, also the housing minister, will be remembered as the ed to cost 1.3 million Egyp- Amar Ali Hassan, a sociopo-
the flight of the rich, many proclaimed. Critics call the president who destroyed tian pounds ($73,000), out litical expert, believes Cai-
of whom have already new capital a vanity proj- what is left of the middle of reach for a mid-level bu- ro’s woes will only deepen.
moved to gated commu- ect, arguing its cost could class.” reaucrat, who may make “It could be neglected, be-
nities in new suburbs, leav- have been better put to The government argues the equivalent of about come estranged and left to
ing the old Cairo in neglect rebuilding the wrecked that Cairo is already burst- $4,800 a year. die a slow death,” he said.
and decay. economy and refurbishing ing at the seams and will “Those targeted to live in Sameh Abdallah Alayli,
The new capital — a Cairo. They also see it as grow to 40 million by 2050. the new capital consti- an urban planning expert,
proper name has yet to evidence of el-Sissi’s au- The new city is being built tute a very, very limited wrote in the Al-Shorouk
be found — is the $45 bil- thoritarianism, launching a on 170,000 acres about segment of society,” said newspaper that the idea
lion brainchild of general- multibillion-dollar plan with 28 miles east of Cairo and Nafaa. Ironically, the new of a new capital was un-
turned-president Abdel- little debate. El-Sissi often nearly twice its size. Con- capital could one day be acceptable, construction
Fattah el-Sissi, the biggest lashes out at those who struction began in 2016, overwhelmed by the old, should be halted and the
of the mega-projects he question him, telling Egyp- and the first of its forecast as illegal construction ex- focus put back on over-
launched since taking of- tians to listen only to him 6.5 million residents are pands. That has often been hauling the ancient city.
fice in 2014. He contends and saying he’s answer- scheduled to move there the way Cairo has evolved, “Historical Cairo must re-
the projects, ranging from able to God alone. He of- next year. with the rich moving out, main the political capital of
new roads and housing ten says Egypt’s resources The city will house the presi- only to move again as the Egypt,” he wrote.q
complexes to a Suez Canal are limited — leading some dency, Cabinet, parlia- city swells, adding layer
expansion, attract investors Egyptians, struggling amid ment and ministries. Plan- after layer. “Throughout
and create jobs. skyrocketing prices, to won- ners promise a 21-mile-long the history of Cairo, the rul-
Senior officials boastfully der why so much is spent public park, an airport, an ing elite and the rich have
compare what has been on questionable projects. opera house, a sports com- failed to completely isolate
built under el-Sissi to monu- “There is something very plex and 20 skyscrapers, in- themselves from the rest of
ments like the Giza Pyra- wrong with the order of pri- cluding Africa’s highest, at the population,” said nov-
mids. “History will do justice orities,” said political ana- 345 meters. elist Hamdy Abu Golayy-
to this generation of Egyp- lyst Hassan Nafaa. “Maybe Madbouly denied the new el, who authored a book
tians and our grandsons el-Sissi wants to go down in city will only attract the about the city called “Cai-
will remember its achieve- history as the leader who well-off, saying it is “for all ro, Streets and Stories.” It