Crossing the Suez Canal

On 5 August 2014, the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced the launch of a new mega-project: A new canal parallel to the Suez Canal with several tunnel crossings between Sinai, Ismailia and Port Said. This would be accompanied by new ports and industrial estates to intensify international trade through Egypt and stimulate the country’s economic growth.

The new Suez Canal was opened just 1 year later, but that isn’t the end of the pro­ject. An ad­di­tional 76,000 km² on ei­ther side of the canal are to be de­vel­oped for in­dus­trial and tech­nol­ogy es­tates, which will be supported by cross­ings under the canal to transform the re­gion around the Suez Canal into a world-class eco­nomic zone.

The Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt commissioned CDM Smith with design review and approval and construction supervision for the tunnels in Ismailia, including a factory for the precast segmental lining. Two road tunnels with two lanes each connecting Ismailia with the new eastern trade area in Sinai are to be constructed at a depth of 60 m.

We provided tunnel planning, design and supervision, as well as applying our ex­ten­sive ex­pe­ri­ence in tun­nelling equip­ment ma­chines and open tun­nelling, during this mega-project's 7-year con­struc­tion pe­riod and first two years of operation.

Together with our local partner, ACE, we help ensure a safe, high-quality and fast connection from North Africa to Asia via the Sinai Peninsula to last a century.

Haider Fadhel, Project Manager