Bridge from Sharm to Saudi - work started

It appears that the new Egyptian government has now given the go ahead to start construction of a land sea bridge that will go from Sharm to Saudi. The plan is to use the island if Tiran as a stepping stone. I hope that the beautiful reefs don't have to suffer because of this.

http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/govt-signals-saudi-bridge-project-moving-forward

Stew

If the bridge has a toll fee, as it probably will, it (Egypt / Saudi) will do well out of the '000s of north African prigrims wishing to do Hajj. However the span across the straights will be a feat of engineering, not least to enable the access of very large vessels to the Gulf.

If built, you can kiss goodbye to the reefs in the Strait of Tiran: they're obvious sites to place supporting pylons.

I see from the link that environmental concerns are widely held to be Westerners expressing anti-Islamic prejudice.

I'm starting to think that I shall never go back to the Red Sea...

... although I'm not sure if that's because I won't be welcome, or because it won't be worth visiting.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, there are far more strategic projects in Saudi which are way behind.