From the crunch of Cairo, Egypt plans a high-tech leap with new capital

CAIRO, September 2 (Reuters) – Residents will use smart cards and apps to open doors and make payments in the new Egyptian capital, on the outskirts of Cairo, and surf the net with public WiFi broadcast from streetlights .

A network of at least 6,000 cameras will monitor activity on all streets, tracking pedestrians and vehicles to regulate traffic and report suspicious activities.

Its “smart city” design is a world far removed from parts of the existing big capital, where crumbling infrastructure can mean erratic internet and telephone coverage, the gatekeepers of densely built apartment blocks form a human network of glances and administrative assignments can take hours. iron tail.

The city, which is being built from scratch in the desert – hitherto called the new administrative capital – is designed to house 6.5 million residents and is expected to open to its first officials later this year.

It is unclear how far the center of gravity of Egypt moves from Cairo to the new capital, 45 km from the Nile. For many ordinary Egyptians, for whom the bustling city has been home for generations, moving and cost would be unthinkable.

But for those making the change, they are promised a single app to pay utility bills, access local services, and report complaints and issues.

Officials say high-tech systems will help reduce waste by detecting leaks or defects, and allow residents to monitor consumption.

“Through its mobile application, a citizen will be able to manage all his vital matters from his mobile phone,” said Mohamed Khalil, chief technology officer of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), the military and government-owned building the city. .

TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTS

Authorities plan to repeat and synchronize the technology through other developments advocated by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for whom the new city is a flagship project.

“This model is being applied to the 14 new cities that are being established … one of our goals is the integration of cities,” Khalil said.

Some Egyptians see the new capital as being for a privileged elite in a country where nearly a third of the population lives below the poverty line. Others see that the technological boost had already been expected.

“Everything is very useful to the citizen,” said Tark Habib, a 53-year-old merchant who speaks in central Cairo, where the Mugamma, the monolithic and notoriously chaotic headquarters of the Egyptian bureaucracy of recent decades, is being emptied.

Technology and communications contracts for the new capital total $ 640 million, which could reach $ 900 million in later phases, Khalil said. Partners include Huawei (HWT.UL), Orange (ORAN.PA) and Mastercard (MA.N).

A surveillance system developed by Honeywell (HON.O) “will monitor congestion and traffic congestion, detect theft incidents, observe suspicious people or objects, and activate automatic alarms in emergency situations,” the company says.

While construction work continues, the level of examination or any concerns in this regard have yet to be tested.

Officials say the surveillance technology would be aimed at detecting crime and improving security, and that the data will be protected by Egyptian law and international standards.

However, Egypt has witnessed strong crackdown on dissent under Sisi, implemented by measures that include checks on Internet activity, street security checks, an effective ban on protests and a state of emergency. continuous.

While enhanced surveillance may make it easier to identify dissidents, “I don’t see what I would really add beyond what they’re already doing, which is very extensive,” said Steven Feldstein, a senior member of Washington’s Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. author of a book on digital repression.

Additional reports by Ahmed Fahmy; Written by Aidan Lewis; Edited by Alison Williams

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