Urban Planning Authority Director Mostafa Metwally said that the consulting office that won the contest to turn downtown Cairo into a pedestrian zone would complete its design in one year's time at the most, as the authority requested certain amendments to the original plan.

"The actual project will take between ten and 15 years to implement," Metwally said at a press conference on Wednesday. "It will be carried out in different phases."

"We plan to build more multi-storey garages on the outskirts of downtown," he added. "This alone will take from three to five years."

As for the government ministry buildings located downtown, these will be evacuated once the government moves to New Cairo and be converted into hotels, museums and art galleries, said Metwally. "The Tahrir Square administrative building, for example, will most probably become a five-star hotel," he said.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.