Egypt – a country located in the northeastern corner of Africa, is blessed at its center with the Nile River valley and delta. This land was home to some of the principal civilizations of the Middle East and was the site of some of the world’s earliest societies. The country, one of the region’s major food producers, is rich in agricultural productivity and has supported its large rural population that has been devoted to working on the land.
However, the capital city – Cairo, is one of the world’s largest urban clusters thus enabling manufacturing and trade to rapidly surpass the agriculture sector as the largest sectors in terms of contribution to the national economy. The country’s natural beauty and wide landscape has also reaped benefits from the tourism sector in terms of foreign exchange. One of the main challenges faced by the country is that which is suffered by only a handful of other countries – overpopulation. The growth rate of the general population currently stands at around 2.6 million individuals per year, despite efforts by authorities to raise awareness on family planning, with special attention directed to the rural areas.
Overpopulation poses as a risk to various segments of the economy including depletion of the country’s resources which ultimately hinders the country’s development plans as under Egypt’s Vision 2030. Latest data available shows that the nation’s population has doubled in the last 30 years, from 48 million to 95 million as of 2016. Moreover, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt experiences several losses as a result of soil erosion and construction to meet population requirements – mainly related to housing.
It is with this view of the challenges that Egypt faces that the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) provided Egypt with a grant of AED 735 million for the construction of the Sheikh Zayed City. The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development’s efforts towards social and economic development for Egypt began in 1974. Egypt has been a strong focus of the ADFD, having received a total of AED 4 billion in total grants and loans. The fund has provided financial assistance for more than 70 projects in various segments of sectors; Agriculture, Electricity & Water, Social & Health services, Housing, Industrial and Transportation. Among these projects is the construction of the aforementioned Sheikh Zayed City, which was of national importance given it was an initiative to curb its overpopulation struggles. H.E. Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, has expressed his desires to strengthen the Egyptian governments aspirations through financing projects that support infrastructure development which is a fundamental requirement for socio-economic growth. He has also mentioned “ADFD’s work in Egypt over the past four decades is testimony to the Fund’s crucial role in boosting economic and social development across developing countries. The Fund’s projects align with the expansive vision and goals of the Egyptian government.”
The Egyptian housing sector has received a sizeable amount of funding from the ADFD, most notably funding for the Sheikh Zayed City, which is one of Egypt’s largest residential developments. This particular project made a substantial contribution to the country’s economic development, and, more importantly, improved the living conditions of the population. Moreover, in the year 2000, a contract was inked for the construction of the AED 661 million Naser complex project which encompassed 8,000 housing units.
Revitalized standards of living
Sheikh Zayed City – located 38km to the west of downtown Cairo and between Cairo-Alexandria Road and 6th of October City has covered a wide range of facilities and service utilities including: Providing the city with clean water, the construction of a 200 bed Sheikh Zayed City Hospital project offering all medical specialties and equipment including a nuclear medicine department, service buildings, complementary projects such as irrigation facilities and administrative headquarters. Additionally, the project comprises of two mosques, secondary schools for both Girls and Boys, an industrial trade school, five primary schools and two centers affiliated to Al Azhar University. The city is considered an environmentally friendly city, far from any sources of pollution and industrial areas, with a total area of about 10 thousand acres. The city targets 662 thousand people, while the current population of the city is 350 thousand. The total number of housing units in the city is about 88 thousand housing units of various social levels, which contributed significantly to solving the problems of overcrowding in Cairo.
There are more than 27 commercial markets established under the supervision of the Urban Communities Authority for Development Sector and Urban Development and the private sector and which serve the different neighborhoods of the city. The city is located on a high elevation above sea level and is connected to a network of important roads; as to its north lies the (Alexandria Desert Road) and to its south-west lies (Dahshur road) and to the south-east lies (the extension of the axis of 26 July) in addition to being 15 km away from the heart of the capital. This shall have an impact on increasing the standard of living of the population in Cairo, as the city was planned with wide streets and green spaces and more than 20 neighborhoods divided into medium - luxury neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has its own service and entertainment centers according to the following: 29 schools have been implemented, more than 6 hospitals and health centers were established.
Mosques and churches were established in the city, sports service projects have also been implemented to further cater to the residents of the city. In addition to the aforementioned services, there are administrative buildings including the Urban Communities Authority,
Ministry of Tourism and others. There are many entertainment centers that attract citizens from Greater Cairo and its suburbs. Cultural Services: The Arab Archaeologists Union - Environmental and Cultural Center – (Environment Park) have also been established which in turn has provided thousands of jobs for citizens of the city and the surrounding cities. The project also proves to cater towards the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG), the project ties into industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9) and sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11).
Despite the completion of this large project, there have been challenges with maintaining the high standard of living and the quality of life in the city. To maintain this quality, the city board is working in constant cooperation with the relevant authorities to maintain the rules and regulations and apply international traffic rules providing pedestrian crossings and parking areas. The Authority also constantly monitors the projects designed to raise the efficiency of the residential neighborhoods. The system manages the facilities and contracts with the largest cleaning companies to ensure the quality of service to the population 24 hours a day, in addition to activating a hotline to receive complaints and malfunctions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sustenance initiatives