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Ismailia Tunnels Project (Tahya Misr)

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi opened the tunnels of Ismailia city connecting the Delta فخ Sinai. Two tunnels for cars were constructed under the old and new Suez Canals and they were inaugurated. The tunnels were built with the aim of achieving sustainable development, reducing the burden lying on the citizens’ shoulders to move from and to Sinai and linking Sinai to the Nile Valley.


For more than three and a half years, Egypt's engineers and workers have effected a major change in Egypt’s modern history by digging those canals. It is no less important than the victorious crossing of the Egyptian Armed Forces to the other side of the Canal in October 1973 War.

Under the slogan of Tahya Misr (Long live Egypt), more than 3,000 engineers, technicians and workers worked in that project. They worked day and night to complete it to achieve sustainable development and ease the burden on citizens to move from and to Sinai.


The Armed Forces Engineering Authority supervised the construction of the tunnels in Ismailia, in cooperation with the Egyptian national companies; "Petrojet" carried out the construction of the southern tunnel and "Concord" carried out the construction of the northern tunnel with a labor force of more than 3 thousand consultants, engineers, technicians and workers.

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Roads, Bridges and Tunnels May 2019

Ismailia Tunnels Project (Tahya Misr)

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi opened the tunnels of Ismailia city connecting the Delta فخ Sinai. Two tunnels for cars were constructed under the old and new Suez Canals and they were inaugurated. The tunnels were built with the aim of achieving sustainable development, reducing the burden lying on the citizens’ shoulders to move from and to Sinai and linking Sinai to the Nile Valley.


For more than three and a half years, Egypt's engineers and workers have effected a major change in Egypt’s modern history by digging those canals. It is no less important than the victorious crossing of the Egyptian Armed Forces to the other side of the Canal in October 1973 War.

Under the slogan of Tahya Misr (Long live Egypt), more than 3,000 engineers, technicians and workers worked in that project. They worked day and night to complete it to achieve sustainable development and ease the burden on citizens to move from and to Sinai.


The Armed Forces Engineering Authority supervised the construction of the tunnels in Ismailia, in cooperation with the Egyptian national companies; "Petrojet" carried out the construction of the southern tunnel and "Concord" carried out the construction of the northern tunnel with a labor force of more than 3 thousand consultants, engineers, technicians and workers.

  • Construction Process
  • Drill Machine
  • The Importance of the Tunnel
  • The Tunnel
  • The Cement Factory

-The Armed Forces Engineering Authority supervised the construction of the tunnels in Ismailia, in cooperation with the Egyptian national companies; "Petrojet" carried out the construction of the southern tunnel and "Concord" carried out the construction of the northern tunnel with a labor force of more than 3,000 consultants, engineers, technicians and workers.
- The tunnel project in northern Ismailia consists of three tunnels: two tunnels for cars and one for the railway. The three tunnels pass under the Suez Canal in the northern part of Ismailia. The tunnels connect the ring road in Ismailia, the Ismailia-Port Said road in the west and Ras Sedr road.

The drill machine is of very heavy weights and has been assembled in two phases:
- The first phase was carried out outside the tunnel by Egyptian workers and engineers under the supervision of the German Company that manufactured the machine.
- The second phase was the assembly of the machine at the beginning of the tunnel. The number of the workers inside the machine were 25 specialists, who exchanged shifts every 12 hours.
- The most difficult and dangerous place in the new tunnels is the part by which the Suez Canal passes, the old or new one, which is 24 meters long. The distance between the tunnel and the bottom of the Suez Canal is 16 meters, and this thickness was calculated according to precise engineering standards.
- The tunnel drilling tests around the world indicate that a tunnel of this size has not been built in a time of at least 5 years before. The concrete factory, which was created next to the Ismailia tunnels area, has been constructed to make the concrete rings required for the tunnel body, instead of moving them from their manufacturing sites and wasting time.

- The main purpose of the tunnels is to alleviate the suffering of citizens because they used to spend a lot of time waiting for vehicles by the ferries and the tunnel of the Martyr Ahmed Hamdi in Suez; whether these cars were loaded with goods or passengers. Another purpose is that it contributes to the overall development process sought by the political leadership and the government to provide a decent life for citizens.
-The tunnels will have a positive effect on citizens for it will reduce the time of transferring goods and shipments, thus lowering the fees of transportation, shipment and others. The tunnels will also connect Sinai to all the governorates of the Republic so that the citizens can go to Sinai from Cairo within a period not exceeding two hours.

- 40 engineers form the concerned companies and the Engineering Authority traveled to Germany to be trained on operating the tunnel drilling machines.
- There are 10 checkpoints equipped with the latest scanners in the world in each tunnel (4 of them are for cars and 6 for heavy transport and buses).
- Car inspection procedures do not take more than 10 minutes.
- The toll gates are located more than 2500 meters away from the main tunnel.
- There are parking lots, a mosque, a car service area and administrative buildings in the area of toll gates and inspection.

- There are speakers for every 100 meters to guide the driver in the event of any emergency or malfunction.
- Two automatic fire extinguishing systems are in the tunnel and another manual system that consists of a small extinguishing unit every 50 meters.
- There are 23 emergency rooms along the tunnel for individuals on its both sides with a ladder.
- There are concrete vents on both sides of the road; 60 cm wide from the bottom to protect the tunnel body.
- There are 4 corridors, 12.5 meters long, connecting the two tunnels.

- The tunnel has two car lanes, each of each is 3.70 meters wide and the speed of the vehicles is 60 km per hour under the radar surveillance.
- The length of each tunnel is about 6 kilometers from the west of the Canal to the east of Sinai.
- The tunnel ranks third in the world in terms of diameter, which is 13.20 meters.
- Workers exchanged shifts over 24 hours and the work of machines was divided in two shifts, 12 hours each.
- 4 Septic tanks were constructed for maintenance and ventilation in the two tunnels.
- Two major companies have worked in the tunnel project in Ismailia, including Petrojet and Concord.
- The tunnels will contribute to the ease of transport of goods and passengers and reduce the suffering of citizens.
- The outer diameter of the tunnel is about 12.6 meters and the interior one is 11.4 meters.
- The length of each tunnel is about 2850 meters and up to 3850 meters at the entrances and exits.
- Million cubic meters were drilled.
- 2 million cubic meters of landfill work to improve the soil properties in the area where the tunnel is constructed, the entrances and exits of the tunnels.
- Two million and two hundred thousand cubic meters of precast concrete are used in the tunnels.
- One hundred thousand tons of iron were used in both tunnels.
- The duration of the journey from the beginning of the tunnel to its end shall not exceed 20 minutes.

- A factory was built for the preparation and processing of precast concrete and segments which are used in the construction of the "cylindrical tunnel" under the Suez Canal. They have already been produced and are now being assembled in open warehouses near the tunnel’s opening so as to be close to the drilling machine.
- The cement used to make concrete is resistant to all the external factors which may affect the soil, whether from groundwater or leaks from the waterway. It is manufactured in the Egyptian factories, in Sinai and the Valley and it is supplied to the project at special prices.
-These segments are supported by highly efficient steel, enabling them to withstand the pressure of the soil, heavy loads and the pressure of the Suez Canal waters lying below it. The concrete factory has two production lines capable of producing more than 80 concrete rings per day; 30 meters longitudinally.