Talks of building a bridge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have resurfaced after the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98, carrying more than 1400 people, sank in the Red Sea last week, killing at least 1000 people.
The ferry went down in the middle of the Red Sea as it crossed between the Saudi port of Duba and Safaga in Egypt.The Al-Salam Maritime Transport Company, which owns the sunken ship, says it carries one million passengers each year on 15 different ferries. Several of these are old and thought to have been modified to increase capacity.
An estimated 1.2 million Egyptians work in Saudi Arabia or in other Gulf countries, mainly as construction workers.The idea of a causeway or suspension bridge linking the two countries over the Gulf of Aqaba, creating a safer route for workers, trade, tourists and pilgrims, has been on the drawing board for the past 20 years.
The project was initially drafted in 1982 but had been unearthed in 1991 after the sinking of another ship, the Salem Express, between the Saudi port of Jeddah and the port of Safaga, leaving around 500 people dead.
If the plans get off the drawing board, the bridge will link the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, north of the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, with Ras Hamid in Saudi Arabia, across the Tiran straits.
But it is not the only plan to span the Red Sea. Other teams have also looked into the possibility of building a bridge further north across the Gulf of Aqaba, making the idea wholly possible.
“This project never really left the drawing board but it is totally feasible. The bridge wouldn’t be too long and the relatively shallow sea in that area allows for such a construction,” said Ibrahim Kamel, an Egyptian architect and businessman.
According to experts, the bridge will span 15 km, cost an estimated US $3 billion and take around five years to build. Past studies for the project, which would provide a road link between Africa and the Arabian peninsula, had banked on funding from Riyadh, which could use it as an opportunity to boost its trade.
Between 300 and 400 survivors in last week’s ferry didsaster were picked up by the Elenora cargo ship and ferried to the Egyptian port of Hurghada in the southeast of the country. It has been recorded as one of the worst maritime tragedies in years.
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