One year after we signaled interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics, what progress have we made on sports infrastructure? Egypt has been vying to host the 2036 Olympic games in its new administrative capital (NAC). The government has since spent big on the country’s sporting infrastructure, with plans to attract more investments from the private sector over the next few years.

REMEMBER- For a city to be eligible for hosting the games, the city needs to have an Olympic village capable of housing, feeding and providing medical care to some 11k-16k athletes and their trainers, a media village for international press personnel, a media center to broadcast the competition, 40 unique venues to host the 300 sporting events, and ceremonial and green spaces, according to a contractual framework (pdf) from the International Olympic Committee. That’s not to mention at least 40k hotels for spectators to lodge.

But we’ve got competition: Countries including India, Poland, China, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Canada and Qatar have all indicated that they might be bidding for the hosting rights, according to reports from FoxSports and NBC.

Construction on the first phase of the sports complex in the New Administrative Capital is complete: Most of the infrastructure for the EGP 2 bn sports complex — which includes an indoor hall, an Olympic swimming pool complex, and squash and tennis courts — is ready, with the remaining work left spanning services and equipment that can service the area, the source added.

What’s left? On top of the sporting facilities, there are also plans in place to have a sports medicine hospital, hotels, an open-air theater, and a shopping center in the Olympic City, Fox Sports said.

There’s more than just the Olympic city: We’ve also built a new sports city in Port Said, a youth city in the Asmarat district, in addition to the establishment of the covered hall at the Army Stadium and the Cairo International Stadium, according to the project profile on Concord’s website. The government also spent somewhere around EGP 2.6 bn on developing existing sporting infrastructure and stadiums, according to our source.

We’re spending big: We’ve invested a total of around EGP 30 bn in the last five years on developing sports facilities, as part of “an effort to attract other investments in the private sector,” Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi told local media this week.

And the investments are paying off: The investments the government has made so far in 366 youth centers achieved some EGP 3.2 bn in returns, our source said.

The state now wants private sector involvement:The private sector can start bidding for the contract for the Olympic city, as well as more youth centers, next year, Atter Hannoura, director of the Finance Ministry’s PPP unit, said, adding that we’re looking to investors to aid in the process of equipping and preparing our stadiums, according to our source. The total investment costs for the city, as well as its launch date, are still being decided, Hannoura said.

The gov’t is also eyeing investments through IPOs: The government is planning to establish a company for the state-owned sporting club El Nadi, ahead of a planned IPO on the EGX sometime in the next two years, Sobhi said this week, according to Hapi Journal. The IPO will take place after the club opens its third branch, Sobhi added. Its current branches are located in 6th of October and Sheraton.

More infrastructure expansions to come: There are also plans to expand our youth centers and sports clubs at the governorate level, the source said. “We now have 4,503 youth centers nationwide and 30 sports stadiums, in addition to developing and raising the efficiency of new buildings and youth centers, and there are plans for the construction of more in the coming period,” they added.

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