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Bin Laden's brother to build "City of Light"

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Written by News Editor

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Osama bin Laden's half-brother is planning to build a bridge over the Red Sea creating a man-made link between the Middle East and Africa, with new cities at either end of the bridge. Building on engineering feats such as the Channel Tunnel between England and France, the Panama Canal linking the Atlantic to the Pacific and the Suez Canal joining the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the proposed bridge would link Yemen to Djibouti. Costing 22 billion dollars (14 billion euros), stretching around 28.5 kilometers (18 miles) and encompassing a six-lane motorway and a four-track railway, the bridge would be of Biblical proportions. And the man behind it bears a familiar name, too -- Tarek bin Laden, half-brother of the leader of Al-Qaeda. Tarek, a Saudi construction magnate, has been lobbying the Yemen and Djibouti governments to back the project, which would create a direct link between Arabia and east Africa, without the need to travel by the Sinai peninsula. Djibouti Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita said his government was not actively involved. The plan envisages building new cities at either end of the bridge -- which would itself in fact be a combination of bridges, with a stop off point in the centre of the "Bab ed Mandeb" (Gates of Hell) straights at Perim Island. Top "City of Light" On top of the commercial and logistic aspects, one of the key attractions of the bridge is spiritual -- serving as an easier crossing for millions of African Muslims who make the pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, each year. One of the new cities at either end of the bridge would be called the City of Light (Medinet an Noor) and at 600 square kilometers (230 square miles) would be six times the land-mass of Paris and serve as a trade, commercial and tourist hub for anticipated traffic. The bridge would in total measure around 28.5 kilometers, including a 3.5 kilometer link to the island and a final 13 kilometer crossing to Africa -- the longest suspension bridge in the world. That, the developers say, could create 100,000 construction jobs over the 10 year build time. Top Obstacles There are however major obstacles in the way, both man-made and natural. The bridge will cross a site known for intense seismic activity. In 1978 massive tectonic plate movement triggered an eruption from Djibouti's Ardoukoba volcano and an earthquake measuring between three and 5.3 on the Richter scale. The lava flows radically altered the seabed. Yet the ministry which looks after Djibouti's environment says it is confident the project design can plan for such acts of nature. Such tectonic plate shifts are "not something that happens suddenly, but are generally predictable, so the key is for architects to come up with plans which take into account these movements," said Aboubakar Douale Waiss, the general secretary of the ministry for the environment, towns and urban planning. Another potential dilemma is the fate of Djibouti's port, which currently handles more than 120,000 vehicles a year, mostly on business to and from Ethiopia. A road bridge would seriously dent that trade. But Waiss insisted the increased economic and political stability of Djibouti will be enough to support both bridge and port.

 

 

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