Egyptian construction firms will be able to build the New Cairo Capital in one year, said a top official, underlining that the locals have a strong will to achieve their goals.

Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a board member of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors (EFCBC), cited New Suez Canal as an example, calling on the government to allocate the same efforts and interests that were given to the canal to the capital project, reported Daily News Egypt.

“We are suffering from a large number of legislations that impede work and development. In addition, solve the problem of slums spread around the Cairo governorate in conjunction with building the Cairo Capital,” Abdel Raouf said.

He noted that the design of the Cairo Capital should be an opportunity for the Egyptian construction companies to apply all global rules and regulations to compete on a global scale.

“Egyptian experts abroad should return to Egypt to participate in building the new administrative capital because many Egyptian experts have successful work outside,” added Abdel Raouf.

“We have almost half a million jobs available in the construction of the new administrative capital through Egyptian construction companies.”

He pointed out that all ministries and foreign embassies should be moved to the new Cairo Capital to reduce the pressure in Cairo.

The government must commence with the project’s general plan through major consulting offices, as the first step to starting the project’s implementation, and to attract investments to it, Abdel Raouf said.

The project’s second step is to connect facilities to the administrative capital, Abdel Raouf explained, noting that the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca) has allocated EGP5 billion ($638.63 million) in the current budget for fiscal year (FY) 2015/2016.

He highlighted the significance of commencing construction on the axial roads leading to the capital, to plan the city alongside the surrounding internal and external roads to facilitate the project’s implementation.

After planning and connecting the project, it will be offered to companies and major real estate developers, he said. He also noted the difficulty of achieving the project through one company.

The new administrative capital officially debuted in Sharm El-Sheikh’s Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC), as the country’s latest mega-project, with a total cost of $45 billion and an area of 700 sq m.

The population capacity of the new administrative capital is five million people and will include a cosmopolitan city, 25 neighbourhoods, roads that are 250 km in length, an airport, a presidential palace and parliament headquarters. In addition, it aims to provide 1.7 million jobs. –Reuters