China emerges as lead funder for Egypt's new administrative city

The obelisk-shaped Iconic Tower skyscraper that juts out high above the Egyptian desert 45 kilometers (27 miles) east of the country’s capital, Cairo, is a glistening centerpiece of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s signature new $59 billion New Administrative Capital that will host Egypt’s government offices and eventually aims to house some 5 million residents. 

The unfinished building is already the tallest building in Africa and is only one component of a superlative-laden city with grand ambitions. The New Administrative Capital, set to open in mid-2023, will also house the Octagon for Egypt’s armed forces, a complex that is set to surpass the United States' Pentagon in size to be the world’s largest military headquarters in the world. The city will also contain a central park twice the size of New York City’s, the second-biggest mosque in the world (behind Mecca) and the second-largest sports stadium in Africa.