Bridge of the Horns
The Peninsula/By RABIN GUPTA 7/30/2008
DJIBOUTI • The $200bn Al Noor Cities, a project which will comprise one city in Yemen and another in Djibouti was launched on Monday at the Djibouti Palace Kempinski Hotel. The project will be completed over a 15 year-time-frame and the first five years will create 60,000 new jobs.
The ‘Bridge of the Horns’ will have a six-lane highway and four light rail lines as well as water and oil pipelines. It will comprise girder and suspension bridge structures, with the suspension portion the longest in the world. Early studies show an expected 100,000 vehicles and 50,000 train passengers will cross the bridge daily in addition to thousands of tonnes of cargo.
The initial phase of planning is over and agreements are in place with governments of both countries to start financing discussions with institutional and private investors, corporates and governments.
Aside from essential services, Al Noor Cities will feature free trade zones, research and development facilities, technology parks, financial districts and commercial and business areas. There will be educational institutions, cutting-edge medical facilities and high-end tourism attractions, capitalising on the project’s location close to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Mohammed Ahmed Al Ahmed, Al Noor Holding Investment CEO, said: “It is a new city and it is happening. Africa is the centre of the world with a population of almost one billion while the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region has a population of 400 million. We have all the ingredients to make this project a reality.”
He said: “The next booming emerging market opportunities exist in the Middle East and Africa and Al Noor Cities will be the leading edge in supporting economic growth in these markets. Economic development based on the principles of innovation, sustainability and global competitiveness will form a platform to investment and GDP growth. The inbound direct investment is forecast to produce an indirect multiplier effect of no less than five times the size of investment for each country.”
One significant benefit of the project is the many job opportunities which will be made available to citizens of both countries, who right now, are hardly in the best of financial health and unemployment levels are relatively high. Years one to five of the project will mean 60,000 new jobs and more will be added as developments like the construction of a new airport and deep water ports take place.
It also has to be said the location of the cities are in politically volatile areas. While Yemen is dealing with Islamist violence, Djibouti has countries like Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia as its neighbours. However, the promoters feel a major project of this size will fuel economic development to the extent where political issues and regional rivalries will soon become a thing of the past.
