Overview
- The Octagon was formally inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah el‑Sisi over the weekend and is sited in the government’s New Administrative Capital as the new national command centre.
- Egyptian state agencies say the facility covers about 22,000 acres and is built from eight octagonal buildings around central command hubs to combine command, logistics, training and emergency management.
- Officials describe integrated command, control, communications and intelligence systems that use AI, big data and enhanced cybersecurity to speed decision‑making across army, navy, air force, air defence and intelligence agencies.
- Independent reports compared the project to the US Pentagon and cited a dpa estimate of roughly $57 billion in costs, a figure that has provoked public debate given ongoing economic strain on many Egyptians.
- The opening was staged as a political statement — with Sisi appearing in uniform and invoking his ‘New Republic’ vision — and observers say the centre could boost Egypt’s crisis management and regional role while drawing scrutiny over domestic priorities.