Cairo: A $2bn, 300 km freight rail link connecting Eilat, on the Red Sea, with Ashdod Port, on the Mediterranean, is all set to start construction. The massive infrastructure project, dubbed Red-Med, partially funded by the Chinese, will provide an alternative container link to the Suez Canal. Construction, which will take five years, is expected to start soon.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “It’s the first time we’d be able to assist the countries in Europe and Asia to make sure they always have an open connection between Europe and Asia and between Asia and Europe.”
The rail link will also be open to passenger trains. [25/03/14]
