Egypt announced plans to make the New Administrative Capital the first cashless city in the country, as it looks to endorse financial inclusion, according to the State Information Service.
After discussions held between the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the vice chairman and president of strategic growth at Mastercard Michael Froman, the two decided to implement plans for the firm’s investment in Egypt in the electronic government payments sector.
During the meeting between the two representatives, Talaat highlighted the importance for Egypt to shift towards becoming a cashless society, and the ways in which it can benefit from the company’s experiences.
Mr Talaat noted that such projects should boost e-commerce, which is currently flourishing in the trade industry, and will make Egypt a regional centre for cross-world industry.
Meanwhile, Froman set up plans for Mastercard, which include supporting the technological infrastructure in the New Administrative Capital and meet government targets for it to be the first cashless city in Egypt.
Minister of Housing Khaled Abbas announced in July 2018 that the New Administrative Capital will adopt a modern route in becoming Egypt’s first smart residential city.
Abbas pointed out that for the first time in the country, the reservation of units will be done through electronic means, using different methods of payment, adding that plans are also underway for the capital to be a sustainable city.
One month later in August, plans were also revealed for the construction of a ‘Garden City’ within the capital, inspired by the French, as well as the largest airport in Egypt and the biggest Opera House in the Middle East.
The construction of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital commenced in 2016, and is expected to be almost as the size of Singapore at 700 square kilometres.
Mohsen Salah, head of Arab Contractors, revealed in an interview that the construction of the new city is set to introduce along with it roughly 1.5 million new job opportunities.
