Egypt has opened business activities in its landmark ‘Smart City’ – the largest of its type in the Arab world.

Officials of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) led 27 visiting journalists from sub-Saharan Africa on a guided tour of the expansive estate on Tuesday.

Translated as ‘Smart Village’ in Egypt’s official Arabic language, the estate is home to 180 companies, and it sits on one million metres of land. No fewer than 800,000 people work in various companies in the place.

The village is located in the Al Ziza Desert in the Giza Governorate of Cairo.

According to the facility’s marketing manager, Piney Mohammed, the building of the smart village commenced 29 years ago to serve a special purpose for Egypt.

She explained that the city was designed to be the hub of big businesses in Egypt and other neighbouring countries in the Arab world, especially those in North Africa.

The city houses the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, including the country’s Information Technology Institute.

A cyber-security expert working at the institute, Mohammed Ali, said up to 85 per cent of the institute’s graduates usually got jobs before graduating.

(NAN)