Consultant Dar has released the designs for the Capital Park development corridor on behalf of the Egyptian government.
Capital Park will cover an area of 23km2 and has a planned built-up area of about 17 million square metres. It will have three distinctive commercial zones: Gateway, Downtown and Central Business District (CBD). The districts are centred upon a central park - larger than the size of New York’s Central Park - and bookended by a new Grand Mosque to the west and Africa’s tallest tower to the east.
The New Administrative Capital is envisaged to have a population of 6.5 million people, living in 21 new residential and mixed-use districts.
Dar said that Capital Park’s gateway location between major highways and rail networks enables the zone to function as the commercial artery for the New Administrative Capital and its neighbouring communities. Once completed, Capital Park is expected to have generated over 450,000 permanent employment opportunities and be home to a residing population of over 180,000 people. The Central Park alone is expected to attract in excess of 2 million visitors a year.
Dar, within its role as ‘main consultant’, is undertaking master planning services for the whole Capital Park corridor and detailed architectural and engineering design services for the CBD, which is earmarked as the first phase of construction and has site preparation works in progress.
CBD East – the first construction phase – has 1.7 million square metres of commercial space, including a central utility complex with a ‘smart city’ command centre and 20 high-rise buildings. A sculptural 385m tower – Africa’s tallest – with an illuminated crown inspired by the Obelisk of Luxor, will provide 150,000 square metres of Grade A office space and a 5-star hotel.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, said: “The New Administrative Capital city will provide outstanding services and a high quality of life for the citizens of Cairo and the surrounding area. The new city will also create a variety of job opportunities, as part of a comprehensive development framework.
“Once the capital is complete, it will be vital to continue to upgrade the infrastructure and provide constant maintenance, to very high standards, across the various projects, and to provide ongoing high-quality services for citizens, to guarantee a sustainable city.”
A spokesperson for Dar said: “Bringing together master planning, project management and construction supervision under a single consultant on a project of this scale presents a rare opportunity to implement a clear and distinctive vision. Capital Park is the backbone of the new city and will be the catalyst for economic growth. It sets new standards in intelligent infrastructure and sustainability, through green building design, resource management and renewable energy.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
