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Archive for August, 2008
Bin Laden brother unveils £100bn plan
Sheikh Tarek bin Laden wants to build the world’s longest suspension bridge between Yemen in Arabia and Djibouti in Africa
It sounds like a joke. The brother of the world’s most famous terrorist wants to build the world’s longest suspension bridge, linking two continents across the world’s most dangerous waters. As if that’s not enough, he also plans to build two new cities – one at each end.
If Sheikh Tarek bin Laden is joking, it’s an expensive gag. The Al Noor project will cost some $200bn (£100bn) and, according to Sheikh Bin Laden’s people, he has already ploughed hundreds of millions of dollars into the scheme himself.
The project is nothing if not ambitious. A bridge, 18 miles long, will link Africa with Arabia across the Bab al-Mandib (Gate of Tears), the strait connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Two cities, one in tiny Djibouti, the other in Yemen, will sit at either end.
The new metropolises, the Saudi developer claims, will be the envy of the world: the finest hospitals and schools, world-class universities and sporting facilities – everything will be the biggest and the best. Building them will require a staggering influx of migrant labour. The Djibouti city alone needs 850,000 workers – the country’s entire population (children and babies included) is 800,000.
Once built, the two cities will be models for a further 98 Sheikh Bin Laden hopes to build worldwide. Where, he does not know. And, judging by the grand launch in Djibouti last month, it is a question he is unlikely to ever have to answer.
An odd mix of Djiboutian government officials, American military contractors and journalists gathered in the splendour of the Djibouti Kempinsky Palace, the country’s sole five-star hotel, to watch hyperbolic promotional videos.
The project was compared to the construction of the Pyramids, the Garden of Eden and the Great Wall of China. It would be a “hope for all humanity”. Whereas once people from around the world dreamed of one day living in America, soon they would hope and pray for a life in Djibouti, said the company’s chief executive, Mohamed Ahmed al Ahmed.
The bridge linking the two continents would allow trade to blossom “from Dakar to Beijing”, he said, ignoring the fact that Djibouti’s best link to the rest of Africa is a 90-year-old railway that takes two days to travel 300 miles to the nearest city, Addis Ababa
