Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said country needs to be aware of “destabilisation attempts” against national institutions during the inauguration of the interior ministry’s new headquarters in New Cairo on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, defence minister Sedki Sobhi and interior minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar also attended the inauguration.
According to presidency spokesman Alaa Youssef, al-Sisi took an inspection tour of the new headquarters.
The headquarters houses the interior minister’s office, the ministry’s Public Relations and Media Department, and the police affairs and human rights departments.
al-Sisi expressed his wish that the new facilities help in bolstering the abilities of the police and provide it with modern tools to carry out its responsibilities in maintaining security and preserving the rights of citizens.
Abdel-Ghaffar expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the defence ministry and the Military Engineering Authority for its “major role” in executing the project.
He also thanked other specialised companies for their “sincere efforts” in preparing and building the headquarters, which was executed in less than two years.
al-Sisi demanded the stationing of the least number of conscripts in securing the headquarters in order to decrease costs, saying that securing the building could take place using new technology and cadets enrolled in the nearby Police Academy.
“The current number of conscripts – 1,000 – being used to secure the building costs the state a huge amount of money. It would cost the state EGP12 million per year. We’re calculating everything. Please revise the plan to reduce the number of conscripts,” al-Sisi told the interior minister.
The ministry’s move to the new HQ started last January as several departments relocated from the ministry’s old headquarters in Lazoghly Square, downtown Cairo.
The Lazoghly complex was the target of protests during and in the months after the 2011 uprising which ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
source: Ahram Online
