Saudi Arabia and Egypt decided to build a huge bridge across the Red Sea.

Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, who arrived in Cairo on a five-day visit, signed an agreement to build a bridge between the two states across the Red Sea.

According to King Salman, the construction of the bridge will help develop trade relations between the two states, which are long-standing allies.

It is known that the President of Egypt proposed to name the bridge after the King of Saudi Arabia. Proposals for the construction of a crossing between the two countries were put forward earlier, but were never implemented.

The Egyptian President stressed that the signing of the agreement opens a "new chapter" in relations with Saudi Arabia.

This project was proposed by the late saudi king Fahd ibn Abdel Aziz al-Saud back in 1988, but Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was strongly opposed to the construction. Egyptian media reported that Mubarak was under pressure from Israel, which is not interested in establishing direct communications between major Arab countries.

A giant bridge is planned to be built over the Gulf of Aqaba, which divides the east coast Sinai Peninsula with west coast Saudi Arabia. It will connect Cape Nasrani, located near the famous Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, with Cape Hamid in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

According to the project, the bridge, which will be 50 kilometers long, will connect the two countries in the Tirana Strait at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. According to initial estimates, the cost of its construction will be about $ 3 billion.

According to experts, the construction of a bridge across the Gulf of Aqaba will bring enormous benefits not only to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but also to all Arab countries. North Africa and district Persian Gulf... The transportation of goods and the conditions of passenger traffic will be greatly facilitated, which is especially important for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims performing the Hajj or Umrah (Small Hajj) to the Muslim shrines of Mecca and Medina.

According to preliminary calculations, the construction of the bridge, the passage on which will be paid, will pay off in ten years.

Currently the only land road from Egypt to Saudi Arabia lies through the territory of Israel.

During the visit of the King of Saudi Arabia to Egypt, an agreement was reached, including the construction of a bridge across the Red Sea, designed to connect the two states, France Presse news agency reported. This was stated by the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abd al-Aziz, speaking before the signing ceremony of 24 investment contracts. Saudi Arabia will provide Egypt with $ 20 billion for the purchase of energy, which will meet the country's needs for five years. This is a loan, not a gift. Another targeted investment is $ 1.5 billion for the development of the Sinai Peninsula. This territory is the most problematic from the point of view of security, since it is operated by the "Vilayat Sinai" terrorist organization, which is associated with the "Islamic State". The Egyptian side also said that the volume of Saudi investments in the end could reach 60 billion dollars. The Saudi monarch arrived in Cairo on April 7 for a two-day visit. He first visited Egypt after accession to the throne.

On April 8, Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on the delimitation of the maritime border between the states, according to which the disputed islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which were under the control of Cairo, at the entrance to the strategic Gulf of Aqaba KSA, in the Red Sea withdrew Riyadh.

The current breakthrough in the negotiations came after 11 diplomatic rounds of negotiations that lasted a total of six years. There is every reason to believe that if it were not for the difficult financial situation of Egypt, the issue of transferring the islands would have remained unresolved for a long time. According to the communiqué of the Cabinet of Ministers, such a move "will allow both sides to benefit from the exclusive economic zone." The signed document must still be ratified by the parliament.

Needless to say, this controversial step has caused more than contradictory responses in Egypt. Some experts and opposition movements have already questioned the legality of Cairo's transfer of the islands to the jurisdiction of Saudi Arabia, saying that such a refusal from the property and resources belonging to the Egyptian people is contrary to the constitution.

Meanwhile, the determination of the official status of the islands coincided with the signing of another important agreement - the construction of the largest one across the Red Sea, just across two islands transferred under Saudi jurisdiction. At the same time, the agreement on the construction of the crossing was included in a large package of interstate transactions worth $ 20 billion.

It is assumed that it will connect Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Hamid (northern Saudi Arabia, which will make it possible to travel from Egypt to the kingdom in 20 minutes. The idea of ​​such a bridge has been discussed since 1988, and at different times this bridge was also just a road bridge). both rail and mixed .. According to the current plan, the bridge will be about 32 kilometers in length and more than 80 meters in height. Estimated cost this structure is estimated at about 3-4 billion US dollars, and it is planned to build it in about seven years. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the bridge will be named after King Salman.

At the same time, there is no unequivocal opinion on the goals and objectives of this project in the expert environment. Moreover, the very concept of a bridge between the two countries is, in general, subjected to logical criticism. Including a purely economic aspect. From the point of view of trade between the countries, the bridge will undoubtedly facilitate the transportation of goods, but whether bilateral trade is so important for such large-scale investments is a debatable question. According to many analysts, at least not enough to build a bridge.

Then what is the essence of this project? From the economic point of view, the project for the construction of the bridge does not fully pay off itself. There is also a theoretical history of establishing a fast path for those who perform the Hajj, and the transformation of Egypt into a kind of transit country from this point of view. But this is a very conditional benefit due to the quota of pilgrims, and the developed system air transport which pilgrims traditionally use. From a military point of view, there are no obvious strategic benefits to be seen either.

Much indicates that this is a kind of "smokescreen" to cover the actual sale of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir. The need to motivate the transfer of two disputed islands facing the opposition and the population is very acute. These should be some kind of global and long-term perspectives, and the bridge meets these requirements. In this case, the signing of such an agreement acted as a kind of indulgence for the Egyptian President A.F., al-Sisi.

The second reason is that for the residents of North Sinai, such a project promises to create at least 300 thousand jobs over the next five years. T This creates an alternative to the usual occupation for these places - the smuggling of everything and everyone, including weapons, into the Gaza Strip.

At first glance, everything looks more or less smooth, but whether AFas-Sisi is calculating the political consequences for his personal popularity within the country is a question. The Supreme Council of the country's armed forces split over this issue and in the end, by a majority vote, recommended the president to refrain from transferring the islands.

In addition, according to biologists, construction and drilling will lead to the oppression of coral reefs, which are very sensitive to the purity of the water, which will disrupt the unique ecosystem of the Red Sea. This, in turn, could hit the tourism sector - one of the highest priority and lucrative economic sectors in Egypt.

It is necessary to understand that this kind of territorial concessions hurt some heightened national pride of the Egyptians, who still consider themselves to be the main driving force in the region.

Accordingly, if in the near future the Egyptian president cannot confirm these expectations with concrete deeds, then Saudi money may not be enough to curb social protests. Questions remain about the reality of the implementation of this project. The sands on which this "Colossus" of the modern Middle East is destined to be based look too "quick-moving".

Ever since the ancient Egyptians surprised the world with their pyramids, gigantomania has not left the nation alone. There are projects designed to continue the glorious work of their ancestors. Fortunately, there is usually not enough money for this, but sometimes neighbors and investors throw it up. This is how the Suez Canal and the Assuan Dam appeared. The meeting between President Sisi and King Salman of Saudi Arabia on the latter's infrequent overseas visit revived another planetary project: the construction of a bridge over the Red Sea.

The place where the Egypt-Saudi Arabia bridge will pass

Given the mountainous nature of the island, builders will have to bypass its coast along coral banks. This will indeed be the largest "military operation" against coral reefs in the entire modern history... It is also not entirely clear by what means will ensure the accessibility of the strait for the ships of Israel and Jordan.

The meaning of the project of a bridge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Observers guess in the project a rather political and symbolic meaning, so important in Arab culture.

On the symbolic meaning of symbols

The story of another symbol is well remembered, which by the way is of much greater importance than the bridge over the sea. it