CAIRO [MENL] -- Egypt has launched a new bridge to connect the two banks of
the Suez Canal.The effort comes as Cairo hosts the huge Bright Star military exercise,
which will be held near the canal.The bridge is 3.1 kilometers and is located 70 meters above the canal.
Egyptian sources said the bridge costs $650 million, money provided mostly
from Japan.Egypt established a railroad track that spans the bridge and connects
the Sinai Peninsula with the African mainland. The peninsula was returned to
Egypt nearly 20 years ago in an agreement that demilitarized most of the
Sinai.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who opened the bridge on Tuesday, said
the bridge is part of his regime's plans to rebuild the economy after years
of war with Israel. He again ruled out the prospect of war with the Jewish
state."Following several wars which consumed Egyptian economy and consumed the
infrastructure in Egypt, it became our duty to rebuild Egypt," Mubarak said.
"We began to build the infrastructure -- telephones, water, sanitary
drainage, houses, roads, railways and electricity."The bridge opening came during the current celebrations of the
anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The war began with an Egyptian
invasion of the Israeli-occupied Sinai.
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