Bridge over the Red Sea

Transport ministries of Saudi Arabia and Egypt will begin working out the details of a project to build a bridge across the Tiran Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea Gulf of Aqaba in the near future, Arab media have reported, quoting the Saudi ministry. In a renewed bid to forge closer ties and boost bilateral trade and investment, the two countries have agreed to reanimate the project which was first discussed in the mid 1980s, but has since been shelved, reports said. The 50-kilometer land-sea bridge would allow for travelling between the two countries in just 20 minutes. It would become an alternative route to seaways and airways for more than 1.5 million Egyptians and about 750,000 Saudis who visit each other every year, experts say. The bridge would also serve as gateway for exports and imports between Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s regional neighbors. The construction of the bridge, to be named after Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, is planned to begin in mid-2013. The project is estimated to cost about $3 billion.