Once President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi laid the foundation stone of New Obour city 48km northeast Cairo, on 1 March 2018, he demanded that a church should be built in the town’s residential area. The President was inaugurating the first phase of New Alamein city on Egypt’s North Coast some 110km west of Alexandria and, during the ceremony held there, he laid through videoconference the foundation stone for three other new cities: New Obour, West Qena, and Hadayeq October.
Kamal Bahgat, Assistant Deputy to Head of the New Urban Communities Authority; and Wael Samir, Head of New Obour City Authority, handed the plot of land allocated for the church in the city plan to Father Raphail of the present church in the old Obour town.
The new church will be built in the residential neighbourhood in New Obour, about 150 metres off the middle ring road. Harby Nazir, owner of a construction company, said he would donate the sum need for the building of the church, and that construction would start shortly.
Mr Bahgat said that the new city spreads over 2600 feddans (I feddan = 4,200sq.m.) where 26,000 housing units are being built, together with the necessary public facilities. Already under construction are four pre-school nurseries, two primary schools, one secondary school, one language school, three medical centres, 13 shopping centres, a bakery, as well as open courtyards, a police station, a fire station and a youth centre.
Watani International
4 March 2018