DUBAI: Egypt is building 17 smart cities that will be totally reliant on technology, said the Egyptian minister of communication and IT at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit on Monday. In addition to the smart cities, Egypt is working on several projects to increase the broadband coverage to far-flung areas in the country, Amr Talaat said. He said there are 25,000 villages across Egypt with 58 million inhabitants and within three years all of them will have access to the internet. GMIS 2021 is taking place at the Dubai Expo until Nov. 27 with more than 250 speakers including presidents, ministers and senior leaders to discuss the latest advances in manufacturing technologies.