Azhar Tunnel



  1. This project was implemented to develop the Fatimid Cairo area and develop it for tourism as it is one of the important archaeological sites in the history of Islamic Egypt. By implementing the project, the movement of cars was transferred from the surface of the earth to its interior, and Al-Azhar Street and its surroundings were evacuated from cars and allocated to pedestrians and tourists to enjoy the great Islamic monuments.
    Due to the nature of this project, the authority has given great attention to the study and design work of the project - safety and security rules were taken into consideration in its design and implementation, whether for neighboring buildings or buildings that pass underneath or for tunnel users in accordance with the latest international technical and environmental specifications during implementation. Rather, safety factors And the safety implemented in this project far exceeds what is followed in similar tunnel projects in Europe.
    Implementation was started in May 1998 and the project was opened and operated in October 2001.
    The project includes two adjacent tunnels with a length of 2.65 km for each tunnel to transport traffic from Salah Salem Road, east of Cairo, to the Opera Square in the city center. Each tunnel is dedicated to one traffic direction and consists of 2 traffic lanes in addition to some components The other projects for the project include ventilation stations, dewatering stations, the central control building to control the operation, and emergency elevator stairs, in addition to a backup power station that is operated automatically in the event of a power outage.
    The stage of implementing the circular tunnel by means of a deep drilling machine was not easy. We overcame many difficulties encountered during drilling, as the machine was operating at depths ranging between 20-35 meters below the surface of the earth, in addition to its passage under the main sewage tunnel in Cairo. And the necessary technical measures were taken for the machine to pass under it, and the machine was also moving very carefully under the old buildings and the important archaeological and Islamic buildings on the path of the two tunnels.
    In addition to ensuring the safety and security of facilities and individuals along the machine’s working path, all facilities were checked engineeringlly and technically after the machine passed, and some facilities with critical structural conditions were evacuated from residents during the machine’s working period next to or below it in order to save lives.


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