The cornerstone of Zewail City of Science and Technology was laid on January 1, 2000 in the Sheikh Zayed District of 6th of October City, Cairo.
Present at the ceremony were Dr. Ahmed Zewail, then Prime Minister Dr. Atef Ebeid, and a number of ministers including Ahmed Nazif, who later became involved in his capacity as Prime Minister.
After many delays in the City’s establishment, the January 25 revolution in 2011 led to the revival of the initiative, and Dr. Zewail was asked by the Egyptian government to form the Supreme Advisory Board and re-launch the initiative on its original site. On May 11, 2011 the Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree to establish the National Project for Scientific Renaissance, and named it Zewail City of Science and Technology.