1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
PoliticsEgypt

Why Egypt built the world's largest defense HQ

09:10

This browser does not support the video element.

July 14, 2026

Egypt's massive new defense complex, The Octagon, is billed as a security hub. The billion-dollar fortress has been unveiled while Egyptians grapple with soaring inflation, poverty and a plunging currency.

Egypt has unveiled The Octagon, a vast new military complex in the country's new administrative capital, a flagship project closely associated with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Authorities describe it as a high-tech center designed to coordinate national defense and security. Critics, however, argue that the project reflects the military's growing influence in Egyptian society and comes at a time when many Egyptians are economically struggling. 

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW

More stories from DW