Egypt Favors Saudi Causeway in Another Spot

JEDDAH, 22 May 2007 — Egyptian Tourism Minister Muhamed Zoheir Garana said in comments published yesterday that his country was not against building the Saudi-Egyptian causeway over the Red Sea. “We have not rejected the projected totally,” he said.

However, the minister pointed out that the $3 billion project that would link the Asian and African continents required detailed studies. Garana also said that the causeway would have positive results in many areas.

The minister, nevertheless, objected to building the causeway near the tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, which attracts a large number of foreign tourists every year.

“Linking the two countries is possible in an area other than Sharm El-Sheikh,” he said.

Local Arabic media have reported earlier that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah would lay the foundation stone for the causeway during his recent visit to the northern regions. The reports said the causeway would link Ras Humaid in Tabuk with Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.

A consortium of Saudi and international companies including Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Oger, Al-Khorafi of Kuwait and Arab Contractors of Egypt has already been formed to carry out the project within the next three years.

The Egyptian minister’s statement while talking to reporters in Riyadh on Sunday gives new hope about the project. “The causeway has been the dream of most Egyptians since it was first proposed about 10 years ago,” said Ali Masoud, an Egyptian journalist working in the Kingdom.

He said the causeway would not only facilitate transport between the two countries but would “have a great socio-economic and political impact on the region.”

“Many Saudi businessmen will support the project as it will facilitate transportation of goods, especially vegetables, between the two countries,” Masoud said. He said the project would also strengthen relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

“The causeway will benefit many countries in the Gulf and Africa and will bring about a dramatic change in transportation between the two continents,” he said.