July 17, 2007 (LPAC)--The Middle East Development LLC (MED), which is overseeing the project, has given the green light to newly formed Noor City Development Corp. of California, to proceed with designing and building a bridge connecting Yemen on the southern tip of the Arab peninsula, with Djibouti on the African mainland. The bridge will cross the Gulf of Aden at the southern end of the Red Sea, and is being promoted as the longest bridge in the world, at 18 miles.

The bridge is designed to provide freight train, light rail, and automobile service to and from the two continents, and will accommodate over 100,000 cars and 50,000 rail riders daily, according to an article on the website EngineeringNewsRecord.com (May 1). It will cost $10-$20 billion and will take seven to nine years to complete.

Tarik E. Ayyad, president of the Noor City Development Corp. said that the MED bridge project aims to create economic opportunity and stability in the region through such development. "If you open up to this [transportation system that provides access into the heart of Africa] then you can create jobs by moving products, moving services," he said. "You can ignite economic development just by the transportation element. The bridge is really critical."