Story here. Half-brother, actually. This may be the oddest one I’ve read this week. The bridge would extend between Yemen and Djibouti.
Note that he owns a construction company. Surprise he wants somebody with money to pay for it. Convince the people that don’t have money, to pressure those with it, to make him rich. Where has this method been tried before? I would make a good terrorist target though.
We have a causeway to Bahrain. The Saudis love it as it reduces the number of little boats potentially smuggling whatnot in the Gulf. Same in the Red Sea. It could be done, the sea is shallow (for a freakin’ sea) and narrow (for a freakin’ sea).
Who the heck would want to pay for it is a mystery.
Details of this bridge have been released. See here. They seem serious about it.
Excerpt: "The US$20bn Bridge of the Horns would be 28.5 km long, with three 2.7 km suspension spans, the longest in the world. It would carry four railway tracks, a six-lane road and pipelines for water and oil across the strait, which is up to 300 m deep.
"Danish firm COWI has been chosen to provide engineering designs. Providing clearance to over the busy shipping route to Suez ‘will mean at least 10 km of multi-span suspension bridge’, according to Head of Major Bridges Henrik Andersen. ‘The concrete pylons will have to be supported up to depths of 300 m and at the same time tower 400 m over the water’s surface to support the ultra-long span suspension bridge. Each pylon will be 700 m. It will be enormous.’
“The scheme is promoted by Al Noor Holding Investment, a UAE-based firm owned by Sheikh Dr Tarek Awad Mohammed bin Laden.”
It’s kind of weird that people are seizing on the fact that this guy is Osama bin Laden’s half-brother. It doesn’t mean anything; the terrorist happens to come from a large and very wealthy and influential family.