Egypt reclaims land for new port city, but environmental concerns loom
Egypt is constructing a new port city near Alexandria by reclaiming land from the Mediterranean Sea, but the project has sparked fears over negative environmental impacts.
CAIRO — Construction workers and engineers are working day and night, depositing hundreds of tons of soil into the sea to lift a brand new city out of the Mediterranean.
Called "New Abu Qir," it is being built east of the northern coastal city of Alexandria.
The reclaimed part of the sea where the city will be built will be 5 million square meters (1,235 acres), enough to accommodate the housing, tourist and commercial projects planned by the Egyptian government for the new city.
This is a multibillion-Egyptian pound investment, involving several local and foreign contracting, planning and construction companies, which are coming together to create an urban-commercial-tourist community that will be unprecedented in the country and in Africa.
