JEDDAH, 17 June 2007 — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will soon give the Egyptian government two new ferries worth SR600 million to support sea transportation between the countries. The Egyptian Transportation Minister Mohammed Mansour said that the two ferries were modern, fast and equipped with the latest technology and safety conditions. The minister said that the two ferries are currently being built in Australia and are expected to be in service before the end of the year. He added that the ferries’ routes would vary according to the season, from Yanbu to Safagah in Egypt and from Hurghada in Egypt to Jeddah Islamic Port.
The two ferries, along with others, will primarily transport Egyptian Haj and Umrah passengers. The ferry traffic annually between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is around 3 million. The Egyptian Consul in Jeddah, Afifi Abdul Wahab, said the donation was in line with the Saudi government’s efforts to regularly help its friends. He went on to say that the new ferries would reduce the pressure on the existing ones and also help to avoid bottlenecks of passengers at both Saudi and Egyptian ports.
