The Iconic Tower is a skyscraper in the
New Administrative Capital
The New Administrative Capital (NAC) ( ar, العاصمة الإدارية الجديدة, al-ʿĀṣima al-ʾIdārīya al-Gadīda) is a new urban community in Cairo Governorate, Egypt and a satellite of Cairo City. It is planned to be Egypt's ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. With a total structural height of , it is already the
tallest building in Africa. It will have 77 floors, mostly for office use, and is one of 20 towers being built as part of the
Central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
in the new capital city. The total area of the tower exceeds .
Construction
Construction of the Iconic Tower officially began in May 2018. Egyptian Prime Minister
Mostafa Madbouly
Mostafa Kamal Madbouly ( ar, مصطفى كمال مدبولي; born 28 April 1966) is the Prime Minister of Egypt, serving since 2018. He was appointed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to succeed Sherif Ismail following his government's resignat ...
visited the construction site to attend a ceremony that marked the start of concrete pouring operations on the foundations in 2019.
China State Construction Engineering
The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) () is the largest construction company in the world by revenue and the 8th largest general contractor in terms of overseas sales, as of 2020.
While most of the assets of CSCEC were flo ...
is the main contractor for the project, which employs over 5,000 workers.
The tower project's architect of record is
Dar al-Handasah Shair & Partners. The overall plan for the new Cairo development project, led by the Egyptian
Ministry of Housing, includes 20 high-rises in the complex surrounding Iconic Tower.
It was planned and inspired by the shape of a
pharaonic
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
, with the glass exterior representing the Egyptian god
Amun
Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...
’s
Shuti crown.
In July 2021, all structural concrete work was completed for the tower and on 24 August 2021, the tower topped out at its full height of . The tower is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. Upon completion, it will be the tallest building in Africa, overtaking
The Leonardo in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Egypt
This is a list of the tallest buildings and structures in Egypt.
Tallest structures
This list ranks Egyptian structures that stand at least tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires, architectural details and antenna ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Africa
This article ranks the tallest buildings on the African continent by height. Initially, only a small number of major financial and commercial centers boasted large skylines, such as Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi. However, since ...
*
List of tallest buildings in the world
This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see ''List of tallest buildings and structur ...
*
List of future tallest buildings
This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see '' List of tallest buildings and structu ...
*
List of tallest buildings
This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Nonbuilding structure, Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see ''List of tallest ...
References
{{Supertall skyscrapers
Skyscrapers in Egypt
Skyscraper office buildings