Egypt to propose building tallest tower during March conference

Egypt’s government will present during the economic development conference in March a proposal to build the country’s tallest tower on the outskirts of Cairo, announced the Ministry of Housing Wednesday.

Egypt is holding the much-publicised economic conference mid-March in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh to encourage businesses to invest in its economy battered by four years of political turmoil since the popular uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The "iconic tower" will be 200 metres tall with 49 stories as part of a project to build administrative, commercial and entertainment spaces.

The project, whose cost was not revealed, will be presented as a partnership between the public and private sector where the state’s Urban Communities Authority will only be responsible for issuing licenses and building infrastructure, said Moustafa Madbouly, the minister of housing, in the statement.