Egypt builds a new capital – but why?

Mustafa Menshawy
Al Jazeera

In Egypt, a huge “New Administrative Capital” is being built, a multibillion-dollar project situated to the east of Cairo on a swathe of desert the size of Singapore, says Mustafa Menshawy.

You might think this is to meet some need – and indeed overcrowded and security-choked Cairo barely functions. But follow the money and a different motive emerges. The company overseeing the project is 51% owned by the country’s military, which will therefore reap the financial benefits and help it “spread its tentacles further across the Egyptian economy”. President el-Sisi will get business back on side, gain tax revenues by boosting the economy and win prestige by associating himself with a grand project. But perhaps most importantly, the new project will help el-Sisi “control any future revolt against his regime and consolidate his power”. Back in 2011, the dictator Hosni Mubarak lost power the moment he lost control of the strategic Tahrir Square. It since became a powerful symbol of revolt. President el-Sisi has long worked to strip the square of its status. Now, to diminish it further,“he is moving the country’s centre of gravity, its leading institutions, and seats of power, to a fortified, artificial desert oasis some 28 miles away”. moneyweek