News: the Egyptian government has revealed plans to construct a 200-metre-high skyscraper modelled on the country's most famous architectural structures.

Proposed for Cairo's Sheikh Zayed City as part of a wider development, the Zayed Crystal Spark would be a 49-storey building composed of two pyramids – one tall and slim, and the other broad and short.

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The tower would become the country's tallest building, surpassing the 143-metre-high Ministry of Foreign Affairs by over 50 metres.

The name of the architect involved and the cost of the project have not yet been revealed, but Moustafa Madbouly, Egypt's minister of housing, said it would be built through a partnership between real estate developers and the government's New Urban Communities Authority.

Plans for the project were first announced by Madbouly during a speech at the Cityscape Egypt real estate event in Cairo last month, and the first images were revealed last week.

The government will formally present the project at an economic development conference later this month – an event being held to boost investment for the country's troubled economy.

"It is an administrative, commercial and entertainment project as it includes buildings for various purposes, in addition to the unique 200-metre tower," Madboly told the Cairo Post.

The skyscraper is envisioned for a 190-hectare site overlooking the July 26 road, about 30 minutes drive from the historic pyramids of Giza. It will be significantly taller than the 138-metre-high Great Pyramid – the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one still in existence.

The new building will also be surrounded by water features and greenery.