CAIRO – 22 April 2020: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday watched the extraction of a tunnel-boring machine, as he attended the inauguration of some national projects in Egypt’s northeastern city of Suez, including a major tunnel that links Suez to the Sinai peninsula between the Red Sea in the west and the Mediterranean Sea in the north.
The “Martyr Ahmed Hamdy 2” tunnel, which was completely drilled, comes as part of five tunnels in the seaport city, within the framework of Egypt’s 2020 vision.
“Now we are about to complete five tunnels [drilled] by Egyptian Hands,” Sisi said. He noted that all work sites are secured well in coordination between the health and defense ministries, as well as companies to ensure the safety of workers.
The inaugurated tunnel has two lanes with a length of 4,250 kilometers and a diameter of 11 meters, Chairman of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Ehab El-Faar said, during the opening ceremony.
As many as 5,000 workers and engineers took part in the construction, process, Faar noted.
Sisi also inaugurated Al Mahsama desalination plant in Serapeum, east of the Suez Canal.
The five tunnels of the Suez Canal tunnels include two in Port Said, two in Ismailia, and “Martyr Ahmed Hamdy 2” tunnel that is parallel to an old 1,640 tunnel carrying the same name and under the Suez Canal. Ahmed Hamdy was an Egyptian engineer who was killed during the October War with Israel in 1973.
The two tunnels in Ismailia connects the northeastern city to Sinai, shortening the travel time to 15-20 minutes.
The Port Said tunnels link the eastern parts of the canal cities to the western areas, to facilitate trade in the Suez Canal region.
Each of the tunnels, according to earlier official figures, can receive up to 2,000 cars per hour and 40,000 cars per day.
Wed, Apr. 22, 2020
