Africa's incredible new seaside cities built to 'steal' tourists from Spain and Greece

Egypt is building vast multi-billion-pound Mediterranean seaside cities as it seeks to compete with tourist hotspots like Greece and Spain. One of them, the New Alamein City, is located in the country's northwest on the Mediterranean Sea, some 48 km from El Alamein International Airport.

The project, inaugurated in 2018, was conceived by the Egyptian government as a new tourist hub with exquisite beaches, high-end properties, and high-rise hotel developments. Works are ongoing, including residential and mixed-use towers, commercial hotels and resorts, and the Alamein Iconic Tower, a 300-metre-high skyscraper with office spaces and luxurious flats.

It's being built in who phases and despite not being fully completed is already said to be "flourishing as a hotspot summer resort", and has hosted the popular New Alamein festival for the past two years, according to YouTube channel MegaBuilds.

According to MegaBuilds, it's become an attractive prospect for foreigners with luxury villas along its coast build on reclaimed land that had been a desert until recently.

It's also intended to help address overcrowding in the capital, Cairo.

The development is spread across 50,000 acres and stretches 60 kilometres south along the coast, with hopes of accomodating three million residents there by the end of the decade.

Four high-rise residential buildings can already be seen dominating the skyline.

Along the coast, another new city between Alexandria and Mersa Matrouh, Ras El Hekma, is also in the works.

Expected to be twice the size of Barcelona and scheduled to be fully completed by 2045, the development promises to feature seven luxury hotels, have the world's largest marina, an international airport, a high-speed train station, and water taxi services.

Built over 170million sqaure metres, its also set to help ease population pressures by accommodating some two million permanent residents.

Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding is leading the development in partnership with UAE and Egyptian investors, including ADQ’s Ras El Hekma Urban Development Project Company.

Modon Holding says the huge project will be a "smart, sustainable urban community" that is being "designed to rival global destinations like Barcelona and Nice."

Both projects are part of Egypt’s wider Vision 2030 and National Strategic Plan as the country seeks to double the current tourist numbers by 2030.