The Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Egyptian–Japanese Friendship Bridge, Al Salam Bridge, Al Salam Peace Bridge or Mubarak Peace Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El-Qantara, whose name means "the peace" in Egyptian Arabic. The bridge links the continents of Africa and Asia.
The Japanese grant, accounting for 60% of the construction cost (or 13.5 billion yen), was agreed to during the visit of then-President Hosni Mubarak to Japan in March 1995, as part of a larger project to develop the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt bore the remaining 40% (9 billion yen). The bridge was opened in October 2001.
The bridge, which has a 70-metre (229 ft 8 in) clearance over the canal and is 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) long, consists of a 400-metre (1,300 ft) cable-stayed main span and two 1.8-kilometre (1.1 mi) long approach spans.
The height of the two main pylons supporting the main span is 154 metres (505 ft) each. The towers were designed in the shape of Pharaonic obelisks.
The clearance under the bridge is 70 metres (229 ft 8 in). Therefore, the maximum height of ships that can pass through the Suez Canal (Suezmax) is 68 metres (223 ft 1 in) above the waterline.[4]