Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi , who came to power through a military coup in 2013 that overthrew Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, has drawn criticism after saying the relocation of key state institutions to the country's new Administrative Capital was intended to prevent protests similar to those seen during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising .
The remarks came during the inauguration of the State Strategic Command headquarters, known as the Octagon, a vast military complex in the New Administrative Capital that Egyptian authorities say is the world's largest defence headquarters.
Wearing military uniform, Sisi said the Strategic Command was built to "fulfil the state's strategic objectives and help secure its resources", before explaining that moving government institutions away from central Cairo was designed to ensure they could never again be surrounded by protesters, as happened during the 2011 uprising.
The widely televised ceremony prompted mixed reactions after Sisi said another key reason for relocating ministries and state institutions outside Cairo and away from densely populated areas was to avoid a repeat of the January 2011 uprising, when mass demonstrations led to the fall of then-president Hosni Mubarak.
"The Strategic Command is meant to manage crises, whatever they may be, as they can sometimes lead to significant damage and destruction... Previously, the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Cabinet headquarters, the Ministry of Defence and Media Production City were all surrounded and placed under siege. The state had to move out of the capital so this would never happen again," Sisi said.
"Those who seek to harm Egypt, and terrorists will not stop us," he added.
In the same speech, Sisi said he frequently refers to the events of 2011, saying they continued to offer "important lessons".
"Some people ask why I still talk about 2011 after 15 years. I do so because God protected Egypt, while other countries in the region that faced similar circumstances are still suffering from their consequences today," he said.
بحضور الرئيس السيسي.. اصطفاف أبطال القوات المسلحة خلال افتتاح مقر القيادة الاستراتيجية للدولة المصرية #الأوكتاجون 🇪🇬 #ON pic.twitter.com/xmZCucWwuB — ON (@ONTVEgy) July 5, 2026 ‘Dystopian’ Amr Magdi, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, told The New Arab that Sisi's remarks had confirmed what he had long suggested - that relocating major government institutions from central Cairo to the desert was intended to protect the political leadership in a "dystopian" way.
"The roads and the design of the city itself enable quicker and more rapid security deployment in case protesters reach the area," he said. "He made that very clear and said he wants to prevent what happened in 2011, and rob the Egyptian people of the ability to demonstrate before government offices, which is a peaceful and constitutional act, and something we see everywhere in healthy societies."
Magdi added: "[Sisi's] policies over the past 12 or 13 years have been built around exactly that. It is one of the hallmarks of his regime. His government has effectively criminalised peaceful dissent and freedom of expression. Even a Facebook post, or simply liking a post, can land you a prison sentence under his rule."
In August 2013, Egyptian security forces dispersed the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in, killing hundreds of protesters according to Human Rights Watch, and widely became known as the Rabaa massacre .
The crackdown followed the military's removal of Morsi and remains one of the deadliest incidents in Egypt's modern history.
Since then, Sisi has continued to tighten restrictions on press freedom and crack down on dissent.
"In order to cement this idea that peaceful protests are prohibited, he wants to take all these extra measures by moving government institutions to areas far removed from the population. It's a very dystopian idea, like something out of 'The Hunger Games'," Magdi added, arguing that Sisi sees himself as separate from, rather than accountable to, the public.
According to Magdi, the government's priorities remain focused on protecting the political system rather than addressing issues affecting ordinary Egyptians, including poverty, rising foreign debt and declining investment in education.
"None of these things have been scrutinised," Magdi said, noting that poverty remains widespread in Egypt.
"The parliament is not freely elected, and the government is accountable only to Sisi, not to the press, the people or other institutions. Therefore, what he said this weekend reflects part of this much bigger picture," he added. Freedom of expression The relocation of government institutions to the Administrative Capital has fuelled further concerns among many that freedom of expression and the ability to protest peacefully will become even more restricted.
However, Magdi argued that such measures were unlikely to succeed indefinitely.
"Even though we have witnessed harsh repression under Sisi's government and this security paranoia, that doesn't necessarily hold over the long term," he said. "As we saw with Mubarak's regime, it doesn't matter how powerful your security agencies are if your policies lack legitimacy and popular support. Ultimately, these tactics won't shield his government from public discontent."
Beyond concerns over restricting protests, critics have also pointed to the enormous cost of the new capital while Egypt continues to face a severe economic crisis.
Construction of the Administrative Capital began around a decade ago and is estimated to cost about $58 billion.
Egypt has also relied on successive International Monetary Fund financing programmes since 2016, when it agreed to a $12 billion loan package aimed at reviving the economy.
As part of those agreements, the IMF has urged Cairo to reduce subsidies on fuel, electricity and food while expanding social safety nets.