Sisi inaugurates road projects worth LE7B

CAIRO - 9 September 2018: Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat stated that six bridges over the Nile were constructed in the cost of LE3.2 billion while 10 others are still under construction. He added that the total cost of projects inaugurated on Sunday by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is LE7 billion.


President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi listens to Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat - Press Photo

Those projects executed in collaboration with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority constitute the final stage of the regional ring road north-west arch such as Assiut-Sohag Tama axis, Quos bridge in Qena over the railway, Borg el Arab bridge and Balteem bridge in Kafr El Sheikh over the coastal road as well as bridges over the Nile.

Moreover, the projects finished consisted of the Middle Ring Road at Belbes, the Middle Road in Sharm Al Sheikh, and the Middle Road in Alexandria, Ferdan Bridge in Ismailiyah.

Arafat said the total planned bridges over the Nile would add 200 kilometers to the national roads network. The minister revealed that the roads and bridges that have finished or are under construction worth LE54 billion. The authority is constructing 14 vehicle tunnels, and 22 pedestrian bridges.

President Sisi thanked Upper Egyptians for giving up their buildings without any compensations to make the construction of a 23-kilometers-road possible. He ordered that all buildings on the roads sides composing a threat to the safety of its inhabitants and crippling the traffic flow to be demolished while compensating their owners.


President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurates road projects via video conference on September 9, 2018 - Press Photo

The president also urged the importance of upgrading the internal road networks in Upper Egyptian governorates asking governors to raise financial resources to cover the costs.

Qena Governor Abdel Hamid al-Hagan said that five bridges over the railways had resolved the traffic problem in the governorate and that other roads connecting Qena to other governorates were constructed.

On the sidelines, Sisi warned against the spread of encroachments on agricultural land and random buildings which need to be part of electricity, water, and sewage networks.

President Sisi launched on July 22, 2014, a national project for roads, which includes upgrading and constructing 39 roads with a total length of 4,400 km to link governorates through internal roads and establish a new international road network.