Inside Look at Sisi’s Lavish New Palace: Leaked Images Spark Controversy
Watan-Activists on social media in Egypt have been circulating leaked images from inside one of the presidentialjaz palaces of the regime’s President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in the new administrative capital, located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Cairo.
These leaked images come at a time when Egyptians are suffering from hunger, amidst economic crises that have led to the collapse of Egypt’s economy and an unprecedented decline in the value of the Egyptian pound during Sisi’s third term.
New Sisi Palace in the Administrative Capital
Through the leaked images published by Egyptian opposition figure Sharif Othman, what is referred to as the “Throne Hall” appears, alleged to be constructed with pure gold. This hall resembles the palaces of Muslim princes in Granada and Alhambra in Andalusia, in its lavish designs, decorations, and exquisite details.
This has sparked widespread criticism among many Egyptians, as one in every three out of the 102 million Egyptians lives below the poverty line.
صور حصريه من داخل قصر الرئاسه بالعاصمه الاداريه الجديده.
هذه صور “قاعة العرش” و في قول آخر “قاعة العرص” وحيطانها مطليه بالذهب الخالص.
تم الانتهاء منها حاليا.١٠٠ الف ريتويت ينزلكم باقي القصر 🤫 pic.twitter.com/xVuFJjVmCS
— Sherif Osman® (@SherifOsmanClub) February 5, 2024
Sharif Othman, the leaker of the images, revealed that he has over 200 pictures of the palace, in addition to a final three-dimensional design of all corners of the new palace in the administrative capital, and videos from inside the palace. He pointed out that the cost of Sisi’s new palace is approximately $3 billion, “without any foundation or furnishings.”
He further criticized the regime’s president, accusing him of squandering the people’s money on presidential palaces: “They starve and become impoverished, and the most important thing for Sisi and Um Mahmoud is to fulfill the dreams of the sons of the Egyptian Jewish neighborhood! They rule Egypt and humiliate its people under the sponsorship of military traitors.”
فوق ال ٢٠٠ صوره و تصميم نهائي ثلاثي الأبعاد لجميع اركان القصر و ڤيديوهات من داخل القصر …
قصر متكلف قرابة ال ٣ مليار دولار تشطيب بلا اساس او مفروشات…
جوعوا و افتقروا واهم حاجة السيسي وام محمود يحققوا أحلام ابناء حارة اليهود المصريين!
يحكموا مصر و ذل شعبها برعاية الخونه قيادات… https://t.co/zoAhcAuQgc— Sherif Osman® (@SherifOsmanClub) February 6, 2024
Summer and Winter Palaces
In September 2019, Cairo announced nearing completion of the construction of two new presidential palaces, one of which would serve as a winter residence in the new administrative capital, and the other as a summer residence in the new city of Alamein, west of Alexandria.
Thus, Sisi would have both winter and summer retreats, governing the country from within a palace in the desert during winter and from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea during summer, according to a previous report by Al Jazeera Net.
The new palace is located in the new administrative capital of Cairo. The images show that the area of the presidential residence alone is estimated at 50,000 square meters, while the White House is only five thousand square meters.
As for the overall site area of the palace surrounded by an outer wall, it is estimated at 2.3 million square meters.
The source added that the construction of summer and winter presidential residences and governmental headquarters is happening at the same time as the widening gap of poverty among Egyptians and statements from officials urging austerity measures and what is known as economic reform, including lifting fuel subsidies.
Sisi Responds to Mohamed Ali’s Leaks About His Palaces
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had previously said in a speech at the Youth Conference in 2019, in response to opposition figure Mohamed Ali who had leaked images of his presidential palaces at that time: “Yes, I’m building presidential palaces and I will continue to do so… Why? Because I’m building a new state, Egyptians.”
#عاجل | #السيسي يرد على #محمد_علي: «غير مسموح بالحديث عن قيادات الجيش أبدًا لأنه مؤسسة مغلقة وحساسة جدًا» pic.twitter.com/iClrE4GkDs
— شبكة رصد (@RassdNewsN) September 14, 2019
He stated that the construction of the new presidential palaces is not in the name of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, but they belong to the Egyptians: “This is not in my name… this is in the name of Egypt.”
While the expenses for building the palaces and government headquarters have not been disclosed, the cost of building the new administrative capital is estimated to be around $51 billion, and the new city of Alamein is estimated to cost about $3 billion.
