Siemens has opened a smart cities experience centre in Cairo. The new centre, located in the company’s headoffice building, provides visitors with an immersive experience combining real and digital worlds. The centre showcases technologies for creating sustainable and efficient smart city infrastructure, buildings, and industries. The company claims it as the first smart cities experience centre to be opened in the country.

Egypt is building a new smart capital city around 30 miles east of the country’s current capital city, Cairo. The new city, which is known as the New Administrative Capital (NAC), is being built from the ground up on a greenfield site. It is aimed especially at housing government departments and the administrative centre of the country. The new capital city is being built with extensive use of Chinese smart city technology, especially surveillance and public order focused technology.

In May this year, the first transfers of Egyptian government departments from Cairo to the NAC began. Fourteen government departments have transfered to the new smart city in a move that is estimated to cost around $100 million. The overall cost of building the new NAC city has not been revealed.

The new smart city will host around 6.5 million residents, and will be based around digital smartcards and a single smart city app which will allow electronic transactions and unlock security features around the city. According to Mohamed Khalil, head of technology for the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), the government owned company developing NAC, a single smartphone app will allow residents of the new city to administer all their affairs. A network of 6,000 street cameras will monitor public areas.

The country also has a programme of urban transformation that targets 17 existing cities to be transformed with the application of smart city technologies. Digital urban transformation is part of the country’s digital strategy.

Siemens’ new smart cities’ centre in Cairo is aiming to provide use cases and technologies that support applications in the digital urban transformation programme. Its new centre is designed to showcase the company’s achievements in supporting smart city development from around the world. One concept that Siemens is championing in its new centre is transformation of existing urban centres with smart city technologies. Visitors will be able to observe smart infrastructure technologies for buildings and cities, including low-voltage to medium-voltage electrification, energy management, intelligent power distribution solutions, and SCADA systems for utilities management such as water, gas, and electricity.

“The inauguration of Egypt’s first Smart Cities Experience Center developed by Siemens is an important breakthrough that aligns with Egypt’s digital development strategy,” said H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy. “We encourage the role of the private sector in the state’s comprehensive development process by using all aspects of emerging technologies and innovations to enable a fully integrated and efficient smart city platform.”

The inauguration of the Siemens Smart Cities Experience Center in Egypt complements the country’s digital strategy, which involves the implementation of 17 smart cities. These cities aim to leverage the latest technologies in order to support the transition towards an integrated digital society.

“Germany has always been a partner to Egypt’s modernisation strategy. To that extend, we are thrilled to witness a new step towards our common goal to facilitate Egypt’s transition towards an integrated digital economy,” said H.E. Frank Hartmann, German Ambassador to Egypt. “Siemens is heavily involved with accelerating Egypt‘s smart infrastructure, with its latest digital solutions, technological innovations and sustainable operations to contribute to building a sustainable future for the upcoming generations.”

“As one of Egypt’s strategic partners and a major contributor to technology and infrastructure, Siemens Smart Cities Experience Center supports the country’s sustainability strategy and accelerates the journey to a digital economy through smart electrification and building automation,” said Mostafa El-Bagoury, CEO of Siemens Egypt. “To further this vision, we are confident the facility will provide valuable hands-on experience for the government, its agencies, private developers, and infrastructure consultants, enabling them to witness the transition to a smart city firsthand.”