Egypt Govt Aims to Move to New Administrative Capital by End of 2021

The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)
The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Govt Aims to Move to New Administrative Capital by End of 2021

The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)
The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)

The Egyptian government announced it will move to the New Administrative Capital (NAC) in the last quarter of 2021, revealing it will begin implementing a project to develop the capitals of governorates and major cities across the country.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed that workgroups of different ministries will move to government buildings for the trial operation ahead of the official transfer.

The PM announced that the government is implementing a project to develop the capitals, in accordance with the president’s directives.

He explained that the project includes the construction of about 500,000 housing units within the presidential initiative “Home for All Egyptians” and will contribute to achieving a qualitative leap along with other projects, within the framework of the “Decent Life” initiative to develop Egyptian villages.

The New Administrative Capital, located 75 kilometers east of Cairo, is among President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s most ambitious projects, costing about $300 billion.

Last March, Sisi said the inauguration of the NAC and the transference of government offices to carry out their duties from there will be “a birth of a new state.”

The new capital was scheduled to open last year but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The NAC will house 10 ministerial complexes grouping together 34 ministries, in addition to the headquarters of the cabinet and the parliament and includes 52,300 state employees.

The cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center estimated the cost of NAC around EGP50 billion, from the proceeds of selling lands to investors.



US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
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US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)

US forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on US personnel, US Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, US forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in Eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted US personnel with a drone attack and indirect fires at another base, Green Village, where US troops are operating — which prompted the US to strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

There are about 900 US troops deployed in Syria. No US troops were injured in either attack.