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 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 El-Qantara, whose name means "the bridge" in

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and o ...

. The bridge links the continents of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Design and construction

The bridge was built with assistance from the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese government. The main contractor was

Kajima Corporation is one of the oldest and largest construction companies in Japan. Founded in 1840, the company has its headquarters in Motoakasaka, Minato, Tokyo. The company is known for its DIB-200 proposal. The company stock is traded on four leading Jap ...

. The Japanese grant, accounting for 60% of the construction cost (or 13.5 billion yen), was agreed to during the visit of then-President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

to Japan in March 1995, as part of a larger project to develop the

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 ...

. Egypt bore the remaining 40% (9 billion yen). The bridge was opened in October 2001. The bridge, which has a clearance over the canal and is long, consists of a cable-stayed main span and two long approach spans. The height of the two main pylons supporting the main span is each. The towers were designed in the shape of Pharaonic

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

s. The clearance under the bridge is . Therefore, the maximum height of ships that can pass through the Suez Canal ( Suezmax) is above the waterline.

Significant developments in the region

The Suez Canal Bridge was part of a major drive to develop the areas surrounding the

, including other projects such as the

Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel The Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel is a 1640 metre long car tunnel under the Suez Canal, at Shallufa. The tunnel is named after Ahmed Hamdi, an Egyptian engineer and general killed in action during the October War. It has two lanes of traffic, one in ea ...

under the Suez Canal (completed in 1981), 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 overhead powerline crossing The Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing is a major 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 Suez Canal is , the overhe ...

References

External links

Embassy of Japan in Egypt: Economic Cooperation ( Official Development Assistance, ODA )Planning, design and construction aspects of the Suez Canal cable stayed bridge
{{Suez Canal Cable-stayed bridges in Egypt Bridge, Suez Canal Bridge Bridges completed in 2001