The Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel is a 1640 metre long
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
under the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
, at
Shallufa. The tunnel is named after
Ahmed Hamdi
Ahmed Hamdi (20 May 1929 – 14 October 1973) was an Egyptian engineer and a general of the 3rd Army of Egypt during the October War. He was killed while crossing the Suez Canal with his soldiers and was awarded the Sinai star posthumous ...
, an Egyptian engineer and general killed in action during the
October War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Eg ...
. It has two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, and connects the Asian
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
to the town of
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
on the African mainland.
Construction
It was originally constructed as a
shield tunnel by
Tarmac Construction in November 1981. In 1992, the
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
granted aid to a project aimed at rehabilitating the tunnel which had developed leaks. It is 1.63 km long and has an outside diameter of 11.6 m.
The tunnel reaches a maximum depth of 51 m (167 feet) below ground level.
Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel under the Suez Canal
''www.ace-mb.com'', accessed 10 April 2021
Significant developments in the region
The tunnel was part of a major drive to develop the areas surrounding the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
, including other projects such as the Suez Canal overhead line crossing
The Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing is a major Electric power transmission, electrical power line built across the Suez Canal in 1998, located near Suez, Egypt. It is designed for two 500 kV circuits.
Because the required clearance over the ...
(completed in 1998), the El Ferdan Railway Bridge
The El Ferdan Railway Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the western shipping lane of the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt. It is the longest swing bridge in the world, with a span of .
The bridge is no longer functional due to the New Suez Canal ...
, and the Suez Canal Bridge
The Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Egyptian–Japanese Friendship Bridge, Al Salam Bridge, Al Salam Peace Bridge or Mubarak Peace Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El-Qantara, whose name means "the bridge" in Egyptian Ar ...
(completed in 2001).
See also
* Trans-African Highway network
The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union in conjunction with re ...
References
External links
Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel
Roads in Egypt
Suez Canal
Tunnels in Egypt
Tunnels completed in 1983
Road tunnels in Africa
{{Egypt-road-stub