For almost two years, news has spread about the new Egyptian Parliament building in the new capital city in Cairo. The construction process started back in 2017 under the supervision of “Arab contractors” construction company. More than 2000 workers, technicians and engineers are handling the project that’s now almost done.

In the light of the new development process in the new capital city, a lot of construction projects is going on. Most of the ministries and governmental buildings are to be transitioned from the old capital. Accordingly, this is can greatly help solving the problem of the crowded streets in the capital.

Building construction

The area of Parliament building is 126 thousand square meters. It’s almost 3 times bigger than the original parliament building. According to the head of the Arab Contractors Company, the total quantities of drilling inside the parliament building reached 320 thousand cubic meters. That’s the largest drilling rate for a government building.

The main building is the House of Representatives. It has an area of 18,000 square meters and can hold up to 1000 people. Just like the current parliament hall, the new one has a circular design shape. It consists of 8 floors that are 65 meters high.  Moreover, the building ends with a significant main dome with diameter of 50 meters.

Parliament building also has several service buildings including medical center, security building, power station building, electromechanical building, and garage that can have up to 675 cars.

German Reichstag Building

It’s quite interesting that the design of the new parliament greatly reminds us of the German Reichstag building. The original Reichstag building was also rebuilt after the reunification of Germany and the transition of the Capital from Bonn back to Berlin. Between 1994 and 1995, Norman Foster worked on redesigning and expanding the Reichstag Building while keeping its historical features.

One of the main characteristics of the new building is the glass dome. It is a particularly symbol of the German reunification and is a prominent landmark in Berlin. The dome offers a 360 view to Berlin cityscape. It is open to the parliament main hall below and offer natural daylight to the interior

The old Parliament Building

Needless to mention that the old building of the House of Representatives has a unique architectural value. Khedive Ismail designed and built it in 1866. It’s a combination of the European architectural styles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and between the Islamic influences in architecture and the arts.

The transition of the parliament building to the new Capital City has raised a lot of questions around the destiny of the old building. Consequently people want to know what will be its next function. Will it have another governmental function, or will it be a museum and be open for visitors?  We’re  definitely all concerned to know the destiny of such a historical building.