Saudi Arabia, Egypt Agree To Build Bridge Over Red Sea
KABUL: (MEP) Saudi King Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have reached an agreement to build a bridge over the Red Sea connecting the two countries.
The agreement was announced on Friday, years after the project was first proposed.
“I agreed with my brother his excellency President al-Sisi to build a bridge connecting the two countries,” Salman said. “This historic step to connect the two continents, Africa and Asia, is a qualitative transformation that will increase trade between the two continents to unprecedented levels.”
It was not mentioned where the bridge would be built, but at the closest point – Nabq, just north of Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt and Ras Alsheikh Hamid in Saudi Arabia – the two countries are 16km apart.
Egyptian officials first raised the prospect of linking the two countries via a Red Sea bridge in June 2013, shortly after President Sisi took power.
However, the Saudi transport minister at the time poured cold water on the idea, saying there was “no possibility” of realising the project due to environmental issues.
Following the announcement, representatives of both countries signed 17 investment deals and memorandums of understanding.
Sisi, who minutes before the announcement had presented the king with the ceremonial Nile Collar, suggested the name “King Salman bin Abdel Aziz Bridge”.
An Egyptian official said the deals agreed with Saudi Arabia during Salman’s visit would amount to about $1.7bn (£1.2bn). They include an agreement to build a university and homes in South Sinai, and a power plant.
