Kamel Al-Wazir, the Minister of Transport, went on to conduct an inspection tour pertaining to the ongoing works so as to upgrade the International Coastal Road between Damietta, which is the Furniture City, and Baltim, passing via Gamasa and New Mansoura, having an overall length of 64 kilometers.
Interestingly, this visit comes as part of the broader plan by the Ministry of Transport so as to develop and enhance 800-km International Coastal Road, which goes on to extend from Port Said, which is located in the east, to Salloum, situated on the western border.
Notably, the road represents a strategic transport artery that links Mediterranean ports of Egypt, including the likes of Port Said, Alexandria, Damietta, and Gargoub, while at the same time passing via seven governorates – Port Said, Dakahlia, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, Alexandria, Beheira, and Matrouh. It also goes on to connect numerous industrial zones along with newly developed urban communities that exist along the Mediterranean coast.
It is well to be noted that during the tour, Al-Wazir took stock of the progress on the 64-kilometer stretch, which includes 37 kilometers within Damietta Governorate and 27 kilometers that are located in the Dakahlia Governorate.
Apparently, the upgrade works include the construction of 12-meter-wide concrete service roads in each direction and also expanding the main carriageway to six lanes per direction. Three of these lanes are going to be concrete-paved and would be completely dedicated to heavy trucks, hence separating freight traffic from passenger vehicles in order to enhance the safety of the road and also decrease the wear caused due to transport vehicles that are overloaded.
Apart from this, the project also comprises the construction of 23 overpasses in order to facilitate traffic movement and also serve the adjacent areas.
The ministry says that many segments pertaining to enhance 800-km International Coastal Road are already done now, including the stretch from Gamasa at km 80 to Baltim, along with the section between Alexandria and Matrouh.
Construction is currently taking place on a dedicated concrete truck lane from Damietta at km 50 to the Black Sand dredging area at km 132. Besides this, the maintenance and capacity expansion functionalities are getting executed along numerous stretches between Marsa Matrouh and Salloum, thereby covering a stretch of around 240 kilometers.
Kamel Al-Wazir also reviewed progress when it came to Damietta East Road duplication and, along with it, the rehabilitation project, which extends to 62 kilometers. The inspected section goes on to include a 25-kilometer stretch right from Sherbin to Faraskur. Dualization, and along with it the upgrading works between Sherbin and Mansoura, which spans 22 kilometers, has already been finished.
The minister, as a matter of fact, has instructed the project teams to intensify the construction efforts in order to speed up the completion while at the same time maintaining high-quality benchmarks throughout all works.
The Ministry of Transport remarked that the comprehensive development programme looks forward to improving the traffic flow, upgrading road safety, and also making the logistical connectivity between ports, industrial zones, and emerging cities located on the Mediterranean coastline of Egypt stronger.
