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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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IF YOU HAPPEN to pass by the intersection of the Ramses Street extension and Salah Salem this weekend, make sure to look up. Three giant foundation support beams, each one 52m long and weighing 110 tons, will be connected to the bed of the 6 October bridge extension, completing its flight over the intersection.
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The operation is one of the most difficult parts of the 6 October Bridge extension project, on which some 2,000 people have been working 24 hours a day for the past nine months.
The company in charge of the project, the Arab Contractors, was founded by Othman Ahmed Othman, who passed away earlier this week (see p.5). Othman, a legend in the construction business, was involved in everything from the Aswan High Dam to rebuilding the war-damaged Suez Canal cities in the '70s.
The 6 October extension is one of many major infrastructure projects currently taking place in Cairo. In fact, the whole city is going through a massive home improvement phase, thanks to the initiatives of President Hosni Mubarak. Many people are anxiously awaiting the completion of the bridge, as well as the other major projects going on around the city: the Ring Road, the Azhar-Opera Tunnel and the rapidly-expanding underground Metro, to name just a few.
Faster than you can say fly-over, the Cairo of the next century is beginning to take shape: a city of the future, of bridges, tunnels, and smoothly flowing traffic.
photo: Randa Shaath
