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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Bringing Sinai even closer
By Rehab SaadThe Ministry of Transport is carrying out studies for the construction of a tunnel under the Suez Canal south of Port Said, which will serve the industrial area of the eastern coast of the canal. The project is to be carried out using the BOT (build, operate and transfer) system under which companies signing contracts with the ministry will build and then operate the tunnel for a certain period of time after which responsibility for the project will revert to the government.
"The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has received 16 proposals from Egyptian and foreign companies which are being carefully studied in order to choose the best of them," said Ministry of Transport Suleiman Metwalli. He added that the NAT is authorised to sign contracts with the selected companies and to supervise implementation of the three-year project.
The total cost, estimated at LE400 million, will be divided between investors in the industrial area of east Port Said and the companies carrying out the project. "The investors will pay LE200 million and the companies will pay the other LE200 million in return for getting the revenue from the tolls collected from vehicles using the tunnel," Metwalli said.
According to Dr Moqbel El-Shafei, head of the NAT, preliminary plans are for the construction of the tunnel 18 kilometres from the road along the canal south of Port Said. "Its length, including entrances and exits, is expected to be 3.7 kilometres. The tunnel will be built so as to allow all kinds of vehicles to use it and will be designed in a way that matches any future expansion project for the Suez Canal," El-Shafei said.
He stressed that the tunnel will encourage the establishment of other projects to serve crossing vehicles. "The project will also connect Sinai with the Nile Valley in North Qantara and will connect the international coastal highway coming from Alexandria with the one coming from east of the canal," El-Shafei explained.
