CCTV cameras will watch over Egyptians in new high-tech capital

Construction work underway in the New Administrative Capital, which will house government ministries, financial institutions and foreign embassies, about 45 kilometres east of Cairo, Egypt on Dec 5, 2022. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

CAIRO: The gleaming tower blocks and high-tech facilities of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s flagship new capital are a far cry from Cairo’s congested streets and crumbling facades.

In the New Administrative Capital that is taking shape in the desert, lampposts double up as WiFi hotspots, keycards grant access to buildings, and more than 6,000 surveillance cameras keep watch over the first of its 6.5 million residents.