Saudis, Egyptians hail Red Sea bridge plan

Jeddah: The announcement by Saudi Arabia and Egypt of the construction of a bridge over the Red Sea connecting the two countries has been hailed by Saudis and by Egyptians.

Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), praised the strategic initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for the idea of building a bridge over the Red Sea which will connect Africa and Asia.

He hoped that similar initiatives are taken to link continents by road, bridges and railways for prosperity and a better future of citizens in IDB member countries. Such corridors include the Trans-Saharan road across Africa and the Silk Road across Asia and Europe through the Middle East.

Sameh Abdulal, sales and marketing manager at a prominent hotel, expressed happiness and said that the bridge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia would be a boost to historical ties and to the economies of both countries.

He said the Egyptian people had expressed happiness on social media all around the world and expect the bridge to be beneficial for both countries and their people.

Kamal Mustafa, editor and translation manager, said Egyptian nationals were very pleased with King Salman’s visit to Egypt as this visit and the announcement of building the Red Sea bridge would help in increasing trade, tourism and strengthening the historical ties between the two brotherly countries.

Mohammed Kamal, an Egyptian national, said this announcement made both Egyptians and Saudis happy because the bridge not only would help in boosting the economy and trade but also would be a great means for poor people to travel to the Kingdom and perform Umrah and Haj.

According to Egyptian newspapers, the ostensible purposes for the bridge are economic, to ease trade and to fuel job growth.

The head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council said in Cairo that the Kingdom wanted to create 320,000 jobs over the next five years, with a focus on the northern Sinai region where instability and extremist activity fueled by poverty are of great concern to both nations.

In an address to Egypt’s Parliament highlighting the job-creation benefits of a bridge, King Salman called for the establishment of a free-trade zone in the region.

Facilitating the delivery of Egyptian goods to Saudi Arabia has always been part of the plan for the bridge and its benefit to trade.

A potential boon, however, would be an increased number of Haj tourists traveling overland from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. Most Haj tourists from Egypt currently fly to Saudi Arabia, but some would opt for the overland route even though the savings for them might be minimal.