Authorities in the Egyptian city of Alexandra came under fire for green-lighting the construction of a flyover just centimetres away from the coast. The project, called Sadat Bridge, started being built in the summer of 2022 in the district of Montazah, located in eastern Alexandria. A recently resurfaced picture from July 2022 shows just how close to the coastline the strip of cement was being laid out.
While the sea is on the left-hand side of the bridge, a few metres away on the right-hand side can be seen a busy road and residential buildings.
The project aimed at easing the traffic people experience in the eastern part of Alexandria, particularly during the summer, and will be paired with the building of a tunnel and a footbridge, authorities said.
But locals and experts expressed their fear at the time that this project would destroy the coastline and create environmental risks, with one calling it a “crime” carried out against the natural beauty of the Egyptian city.
Wael Idriss, a civil servant who lives in the Montazah district, told Middle East Eye: “The flyover is tantamount to a crime committed against the coastline in our city.
“The beach in this area has already been destroyed and turned into mere blocks of concrete.”
In the summer of 2022, many Egyptians took to social media to express their horror at the construction of the flyover.
Twitter user @Aserasorat12 wrote: “Building a bridge and tunnel on the beach goes beyond ignorance and a provocation to the people.”
Another, @XaliaDalia, added: “Why are they destroying Montazah with its history, heritage and beauty? This is conspiratorial ignorance.”
Mohamed Ibrahim Gabr, a professor of urban planning at Ain Shams Universityin Cairo, claimed authorities could have found other ways to solve the traffic congestion without destroying one of the most used public beaches in the area.
The expert argued locals should have been allowed to put forward alternative solutions and the government should have conducted studies on the commercial activities causing the most crowding in the area, possibly considering to relocate them elsewhere.
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Magdi Allam, secretary-general of the Egyptian Federation for Sustainable Development, expressed concerns over the environmental impact of this project, saying the “concrete columns” of the flyover can have “negative effects on marine life in this area”, to be possibly worsened by fumes from the vehicles crossing it.
But authorities defended it, saying it was started after years of considerations and studies.
Montazah municipality head, General Mohamed Sahloul, said while referring to the construction of the east-west highway: “These projects would be a wonderful addition to the Coastal Road in Alexandria.”
The official added it isn’t true the area interested by the bridge construction will be turned into a jungle of concrete.
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Rejecting criticism, he said the area surrounding the flyover would be turned into a promenade allowing pedestrians to enjoy a view of the sea.
Major-General Mukhtar Hussein, head of the North Coast Reconstruction Authority, also hit back at reports the construction works would force the closure of the popular Beau Rivage Beach.
Responding to a fierce social media campaign opposing the project, he said: “The beach remains as it is.”
The sea, he added, will still be seen without obstruction following the completion of the bridge, and will serve as an umbrella to beach-goers.
He added: “[It is] unfathomable that we would destroy the beaches of Alexandria”.
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