Cairo: Four workers were killed Monday when a bomb from a former war exploded at a construction site where Egypt is building its new capital, a security official said.

The ordnance had laid dormant from a previous war, said the official, who did not specify which war and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The country’s new capital is under construction about 45 kilometres east of current capital Cairo.

Workers are building a new district to house a new presidential palace, parliament, 32 ministries and foreign embassies.