The Rising Star of North Africa: New Administrative Capital of Egypt

Lift City Expo Cairo’s seventh trade fair promotes discourse, showcases innovations.

The seventh Lift City Expo Cairo, organized by Advanced Creations for Trade Fairs and Conferences, took place at the Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Center on July 3-5.

Cairo, Egypt, North Africa’s largest city, had become a difficult place to live for its 25 million inhabitants due to its unplanned, congested and outdated infrastructure and roads. New Cairo was initiated in 2000 as part of Egypt’s strategic effort to alleviate the chronic congestion of Greater Cairo by relocating its population and economic activities away from the city center. Known as “Egypt’s Capital,” the New Administrative Capital (NAC) is currently the largest urban development project in North Africa.

Designed as Egypt’s new capital and an important regional administrative and financial center, the project emphasizes the goal of creating a sustainable and technologically advanced “Smart City of Tomorrow” in line with the objectives set out in Egypt’s Vision 2030 strategy to increase the country’s economic potential and reduce traffic congestion in Cairo.

Located approximately 45 km east of Cairo, NAC spans an area of approximately 725 km² in one of the country’s most strategic regions, between Cairo and Suez. The city’s master plan includes residential, administrative and recreational uses, as well as a wide range of amenities. Notably, it includes a new public administrative district, a diplomatic quarter, a cultural zone, 21 residential areas and a new airport. The city’s master plan also features The Iconic Tower, Africa’s tallest building, which stands at 393 m and was completed in 2024. In terms of transportation and infrastructure, NAC will be connected to Cairo via the newly established Cairo Monorail, which is also the world’s longest driverless metro line and will consist of smart infrastructure and energy management systems.

Egypt, home to North Africa’s newest projects, is also the regional leader in elevator and component production. Thousands of local projects have been supported by domestic production in an effort to reduce the country’s current account deficit. However, this is not very feasible for the new, elite high-rise residential buildings in New Capital. For this reason, New Capital, with its thousands of new vertical-transportation units, has become a city of focus for OEMs and European, Turkish and Chinese manufacturers.

The seventh edition of the Lift City Expo Cairo, held at the Cairo International Congress and Exhibition Center (CICEC), featured approximately 50 exhibiting companies from nine different countries, including Egypt, China and Türkiye, showcasing their latest technologies and products. This year’s fair was attended by approximately 4,600 people from 13 different countries.

A panel discussion titled “Egypt’s Elevator and Escalator Market – Challenges and Solutions” was held concurrently with the fair, supported by the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate. The panel, moderated by Tarek El Nabarawy, featured Mohamed Reda Asar, Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Industry Committee Reporter of the Egyptian Engineers’ Syndicate; Mayer Girges, Member of the Cairo Engineers Syndicate Council and Rapporteur of the Smart Cities Committee of the Egyptian Engineers Union; Mohamed Ahmed El Malla, Deputy Undersecretary of the Kuwait Industrial Authority; and Shams El Din Mohamed, Head of the Mechanical Maintenance Department of the Kuwait Industrial Authority. During the panel discussion, views were exchanged on areas of mutual exchange and cooperation between Egypt and Kuwait, particularly through their respective institutions and more broadly among countries in the region.

The panel emphasized the important and effective role played by the Lift City Expo fair in connecting countries in the region and supporting the exchange of expertise, technology, knowledge and the latest innovations and solutions from around the world. Additionally, the challenges faced by this sector in countries across the region and the measures that can be taken to address these challenges and achieve a degree of stability and sustainability were discussed.