Egypt, Saudi Arabia to construct Red Sea bridge

[DJKeefy]

A bridge over the Red Sea that separates Egypt and Saudi Arabia is to be established, Saudi's King Salman said in Cairo on Friday in a press conference with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

El-Sisi said the bridge, which would link the Asian and African continents and support export between the two countries, would be named after King Salman bin Abdelaziz.

"Agreement of mutual cooperation will be a paradigm shift for the upcoming generations of both countries," El-Sisi said in a speech at the conference.

In his address, King Salman spoke about the importance and the historic nature of relations between Egypt and the Saudi kingdom.

"Relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia an impregnable fortress of the Arab and Islamic nation," said Salman during his speech.

During the conference the two heads of state signed a total of eight agreements to cooperate on different areas.

The areas were the establishment of the University of King Salman in Tour city in South Sinai; an electricity project in western Cairo; the building of housing units in Sinai; the renovation of Egypt's largest public hospital, Qasr El-Aini; an agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent of tax evasion with respect to taxes on income; the peaceful use of nuclear energy;maritime transport and ports; and the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries.

A number of memorandums of understanding were also signed in the fields of agriculture, electricity, housing, trade and industry, prevention of corruption, and labour. Other agreements included three joint programs in the fields of education, culture, and radio and television production.

Also on Friday, the king was awarded Egypt's Order of the Nile, the country's highest state honour.

The monarch is visiting Egypt for five days.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/199084.aspx

[newcastle]

Trawling through over 150 internet comments on this idea I came across only two that though it a good move.

The main objections :

Why link Egypt, economically or culturally, to a backward bastion of Wahabism ?

What "trade" in reality exists between these two nations?

Potentially disastrous effect on marine life.

Another "prestige" piece of nonsense in my view. Another "gift to the world"?

[Who2]

I love bridges, I'm a great bridge builder. But honestly they have more chance of Moses parting the Red Sea once again..

A favorite in Dakhala
spanning a red mineral spa water pipe...

And if it ever gets that far this will probably be the outcome, bridge building can be a very tricky thing.

I once blew up a fishing boat underneath The Firth of Forth rail bridge,
We were flying the Blue Peter & the Red Flag, and they had to stop all the trains, great fun.
As it didn't explode on the first hit it became a bit 'hairy...

Here's one I built recently...

And here's a local one,
hidden underneath a huge wine warehouse on one side and a fish warehouse the other.

My original plan for my canal was a rope bridge think on that!

This was far more practical, and grown-up I suppose, in the end...

[HEPZIBAH]

I've not read the details of this proposed bridge but I have seen some photographs of its proposed route. I think the environmentalists will have a lot to say about it.

[A-Four]

All I have seen so far is a whole lot of 'memorandums of understanding'. We all know what that means by now.

With regards that Red Sea project,......as some of us may remember from the past, this has always proved to be a bridge to far,...............and will remain so.

[Hafiz]

An Egyptian funded Israeli invasion route. Hope its strong enough to take tanks. Who2's 2nd bridge looks like an engineering suicide note.

His Majesty refers to : "Relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia an impregnable fortress of the Arab and Islamic nation," which is as inscrutable as it is absurd. Saudi has chaotic Iraq and Syria to its north, out of control Yemen to its east and a resurgent Iran. It also has less US support than at any time in the last 50 years and a Lebanon under Hezbollah (Shia) influence. Impregnable, I think not. its a country with a medieval political system and an economy based on one (currently not very profitable) resource surrounded by chaos and with no (except Egypt) friends.

[Glyphdoctor]

Beginning of the end.

[newcastle]

I wonder when Sisi will do something that your average Egyptian will actually applaud.

He needs to. ...and soon.