Egypt’s Talaat Moustafa launches $27bn ‘cognitive city’ in Cairo

Egyptian developer Talaat Moustafa Group is building an EGP1.4 trillion ($27 billion) urban development in eastern Cairo.

The Spine will be developed in partnership with ⁠the National Bank of Egypt and will have a paid-up capital of EGP69 billion, CEO Hisham Talaat Moustafa said in a statement.

The developer claims the project is the first “cognitive city” in Egypt and the Middle East and will be fully reliant on artificial intelligence. A cognitive city uses AI and data to sense, understand, learn and respond to what is happening in real time.

The mega development will generate tax revenues of EGP818 billion and create 55,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect ones, Moustafa said.

The project, designated as a special investment zone to attract foreign direct investment, will house 165 residential, commercial and hospitality towers, with 70 percent of the 2.4 million ​square metres of land dedicated to green spaces.

Moustafa claimed the project will feature the “world’s first fully underground logistics network”, which has been designed following studies conducted during five years in collaboration with top international consultancies in China and Singapore.

Large investments from the Gulf region have been made in Egypt’s mega projects in recent years.

Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ appointed Modon as the master developer for its $35 billion Ras El Hekma project in 2024. 
In November, Qatari Diar entered into a partnership agreement to develop a project on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, with investments reaching $30 billion.

Further reading:

• Egyptian billionaire doubles landbank of UAE masterplan
• Egypt may seek up to $3bn in emergency funding from IMF
• Egyptian pound under pressure as carry trade unwinds