Egypt plans to establish 14 axes with cost of LE18.5B: Transport Min.

CAIRO – 10 January 2021: Minister of Transport, Kamel Al-Wazir, accompanied by Governor of Assiut Issam Saad, inspected the implementation works of the first phase of the Dairout axis on the Nile in Assiut Governorate, which extends from Al-Houta road in the east to the western agricultural intersection, with a length of 15 km, a width of 21 meters, and a number of 2 traffic lanes in each direction .

The ministry stated in a statement, Sunday, that the total cost of the project is LE 1.7 billion, explaining that the implementation rate amounted to 81.7 percent and includes 13 industrial works (10 bridges - 2 tunnels - 1 culvert), including (2) main bridges, which are (a bridge above the Nile River) - a bridge over the top of the Ibrahimiyyah canal, the Cairo / Aswan railway and the western agricultural road), and the total length of the axis with its stages is 42 km.

The minister stressed during his tour the need to take all necessary precautionary measures to confront the coronavirus at work sites, and that all work be done according to high quality measurements, work around the clock, intensify all work, and fully adhere to the project's time plan, especially with the importance of the project in contributing to linking the eastern desert road (Cairo - Assiut) by the western agricultural road crossing the Nile River and the “Cairo - Aswan” railway, south of Dairout.

On the sidelines of his tour, the minister confirmed that within the framework of the political leadership's directives to achieve comprehensive development in Upper Egypt, 14 axes were planned, at a cost of LE 18.5 billion, in Upper Egypt, to link the road network east and west of the Nile and facilitate the movement of citizens.

He mentioned that a number of 7 axes have been established, namely (Tama - Gerga - Bani Mazar - Adly Mansour - Samalout - Qus - Kalabsha), and the last four are ready for the official opening, and 5 axes are being implemented, namely (Dairout - Alternative to Aswan Reservoir - Daraw - Al Fashn - Abu Tig), and it was planned to implement two axes, namely (Manfalut - North Luxor), as of the next fiscal year 2021/2022 plan, as this will contribute to getting out of the narrow valley and establishing new agricultural, industrial and urban communities

He added that before 2014, the inter-distances between the axes of the Nile were 100 km, and this required that the citizen travel a distance of 100 km in order to cross the Nile from east to west or vice versa, or to cross the Nile River via the Nile ferryboat.

Wazir noted that there are directives from the political leadership to reduce the inter-distance between the axes of the Nile to 25 kilometers to facilitate the movement of citizens and serve development projects and new urban communities, so that an integrated cross-axis linking the road network east and west of the Nile is created.