Egypt takes aim at overpopulation by building new cities

Egypt has struggled to manage its high birth rate for decades. To ease overcrowding, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is building a series of ambitious new cities. But even his new capital remains largely deserted. 

There are hardly any cars on these seven-lane roads. And among the massive, largely uniform sandstone buildings of the Egyptian ministries, only the occasional suit-wearing man scurries by. The only people here seem to be civil servants, cleaners, and security personnel. Egypt's new capital, around 60 kilometers east of Cairo, has already broken records. It is home to Africa's tallest tower and the largest cathedral in the Middle East. Even an Olympic village has been built, just in case the country on the Nile winds up hosting the 2036 games. All the city lacks now are residents.

A security staffer with a mustache and a blue jacket stands in a guard hut in front of one of the many identical apartment blocks. He doesn't have much to do. «There are around 25 apartments in each building here,» the mustachioed man says. «There might be people living in three or four of them.» That makes this one of the livelier areas in the new capital, he adds. The residents are important people, such as judges, he says proudly.