Picture Egypt.

I know what you’re thinking: most likely the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, maybe the river Nile?

You’re far less likely to be thinking of a great desert megacity, with all the modern architecture and innovative tech.

But that’s exactly what’s being built into Egypt’s new capital city, currently being constructed 30 miles east of the current capital, Cairo.

Construction started on the city in 2016, and some government employees are already working in its buildings. New satellite photos from NASA’s Landsat 9 satellite show clearly just how this huge project is taking shape.

Currently known as the New Administrative Capital, the city is being built for several reasons: firstly, Cairo is super congested. The old streets weren’t built with the current population of over 10 million people.

In fact, Cairo is one of the world’s most densely populated cities, and this number does not seem to be in decline.

So rather than squeezing all these people – as well as the country’s most important governmental and administrative buildings – into the aged city, it makes sense to construct a new one.

Though there are questions about the affordability of the swanky new housing, in an interview with CNN Khaled Abbas – chairman of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) – explained that the city was intended for everyone:

“The cost of living here is the same as in the old city, but with a difference that you’re living in a new city, a smart sustainable green city. Our role is to give a quality of life to the people.”

Not only will this new city help to house the growing population, reducing the overcrowding that is currently a big problem in Egypt’s capital, it will also create a lot of jobs – over 2 million in fact – and attract big business from across Africa and the Middle East.

With a flashy new financial district, it is hoped that this new capital will increase the revenue that comes into the country, as well as increasing meaningful employment too.

The new city, which is set to be over 700 square kilometer wide area – almost as large as the entirety of Singapore – and feature a river and plenty of green spaces.

Speaking of the shiny new skyscrapers and cutting edge infrastructure in the new city, Abbas explained how the new capital will contribute to Africa’s modernisation and economic development:

“All the big international companies are looking for smart cities and sustainability. We are trying to facilitate all kinds of services to make doing business here easy.”

Considering how most of our capital cities were built over hundreds of years, Egypt are making this kind of project look easy.

While the above satellite image was captured by NASA on August 9, 2024, this is easily compared with one taken seven years earlier, where – besides a few roads – the project had hardly even begun.

Considering there was a global pandemic in this time, where construction would have been unable to continue, this progress is seriously impressive.

With other countries, including Indonesia, currently either building or planning new capital cities, this could be a sign for change in the world away from dense overcrowding and towards sleek new cities with fresh water and relaxing green spaces.

One thing’s for sure: the skyscrapers are no pyramids, showing a very different side to Egypt!

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?