The long-planned bridge connecting Saudi Arabia to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula remains unfinished, according to Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir, who stated that Egypt is working to integrate a railway network that spans Asia and Europe.
The minister also said Egypt has been building its railways along seven different axes. Sokhna Port on the Red Sea would be connected to the Mediterranean and Alexandria in the north, as well as Aswan in the far south, by three high-speed lines. Additionally, Israel and Iraq have been investing billions of dollars in rail lines to access the east-west trade. A portion of the journey is spent loading cargo onto ships in all of the plans.
“Whether it is a bridge or a tunnel, we have now finished the planning for the bridge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and are ready to implement it at any time,” Wazir told Reuters during an economic conference hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.
“But the (current) solution for connecting Egypt with Saudi Arabia and Jordan is through the Arab Bridge Maritime Co., which currently has 13 vessels that can take cargo between Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt,” he added.
During a visit to Egypt in 2016, King Salman of Saudi Arabia revealed plans for a bridge that would span the Straits of Tiran and complement the Saudis’ construction of NEOM, a mega-city and business zone.
The historic High-Speed Rail Link between Saudi Arabia and Egypt will span the Strait of Tiran through either a bridge or tunnel. Egyptian officials confirmed that technical planning is complete, and implementation will begin soon. The link, apart from integrating with Egypt’s national rail system, will also allow seamless travel from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean. It will benefit Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megacity as well by enhancing the region’s infrastructure.
The estimated cost of the bridge/tunnel is around USD 4 billion, with plans to carry both passengers and cargo. This route will create new opportunities for trade and tourism, reinforcing economic cooperation between the two nations.
Several Mediterranean ports that Egypt has been modernising over the past decade would receive rail cargo.
“The high-speed train line that connects to Egypt’s south would serve the site and avoid the edge of the pyramids area in the desert,” Wazir noted.
The proposed route has been rerouted to cross the plateau above and away from the antiquities site, Abydos, the location of Egypt’s first pharaohs’ burial place 5,000 years ago.