The bridge was opened on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 and consists one of the major projects in an infrastructure development plan led by the Egyptian military. The structure will link the areas separated by Nile providing employment to many citizens. In particular, it crosses the Warraq Island which has about 100,000 people. Some of them protested against the project as demolitions were planned to realize the bridge.
The record 67.3-meters deck provides 6 traffic lanes in each direction. About 1 million m3 of concrete and 1,400 km of steel wire were used for the construction of the bridge.
The bridge will be a key link in a major highway that stretches from the northwestern Egypt in Mediterranean to the Red sea and will alleviate traffic in Cairo.
Mohamed Mohsen Salah, Head of Arab Contractors Company, received a certificate from the Guinness Book declaring the structure as the widest suspension bridge in the world. Talal Omar, Regional Director of the Guinness Book of Records in the Middle East and North Africa, said that the bridge is one of the most significant achievements of Egypt. "I am very happy to be in Egypt today to witness a new record. The Guinness Book of Records has recorded thousands of global achievements in various categories over the past six decades. The common factor of all these categories is the distinctive human element. This element seeks excellence, which we have seen through the achievement we have witnessed today in Egypt," he stated.
Similar projects launched under Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are the expansion of Suez Canal which was accomplished by 2015 and the development of a new city in the desert east of Cairo, which is not completed yet.
