Egypt unveils plan to build glitzy new capital

埃及公布建设新首都计划

Egypt unveils plan to build glitzy new capital

Forget the pyramids, Tahrir Square and the Nile. Egypt is ready to ditch Cairo and build a shiny new capital if the government has its way.

先别想金字塔、解放广场还有尼罗河了.埃及准备抛弃开罗,建造一个闪亮新首都,如果埃及政府这一想法能顺利实施的话.

Fed up with pollution, traffic gridlock, a packed population with soaring rents and creaking infrastructure, Egypt is teaming up with a developer in the United Arab Emirates to build a city in what could be one of the world's most ambitious infrastructure programs.

由于原首都污染严重,交通拥堵,人口大爆炸,房屋租金高涨,以及跟不上时代的基础设施等诸多压力,埃及计划与阿拉伯联合酋长国的一个开发商合作,建设一个新首都.这个首都建设计划可能是世界上最宏伟的公共建设项目之一.

The yet-to-be-named city will spread out over 150 square miles, or roughly the size of Denver, and could eventually be home to 7 million people, the developers and government announced Friday.

开发商和政府周五（3月13日）宣布,这个尚未被命名的城市将占地150平方英里（388平方公里）,大概就是丹佛市（美国科罗拉多州最大的城市）的大小,大概能容纳700万名居民.

The current capital of Cairo, while full of history and vibrant charm, is home to more than 18 million people, and living in and getting around the city can be maddening and frustrating. The government says the idea is to reduce congestion in Cairo, which is projected to double in population in the coming decades.

现在的首都开罗,是一座既有历史底蕴,又富有勃勃生机的城市.开罗市里常住人口超过1800万,不管是住在城市里还是在城市中穿行,都会让人感到烦闷不适.政府称,考虑到开罗在未来十年里可能会增加一倍的人口,此举是为了改善开罗市内的拥堵情况.

An exact location was not announced, but the city is expected to be built east of Cairo. It will be closer to the Red Sea -- between two major highways -- the Suez and the Ain Sokhna roads.

新首都的具体地址尚未公布,但是应该是建在开罗的东边.新首都会位于两条主要交通干道——苏因士和艾因城市公路——中间,比开罗更靠近红海.

The ambitions are big. In addition to the new embassies and government buildings, it plans to have an international airport bigger than Heathrow, solar energy farms, 40,000 hotel rooms, nearly 2,000 schools and 18 hospitals -- all linked together by over 6,000 miles of new roads.