AMMAN, Jordan 5/4/10 (PennWell) — The World Bank, on behalf of regional authorities, has selected two firms to model the effects of drawing large amounts of seawater from the Gulf of Aqaba to refill the Dead Sea and possibly generate hydropower.

Thetis S.p.A. of Italy won a US$1.35 million contract, and Tahal Consulting Engineering of Israel won a US$1.49 million contract. The contracts are for mathematical modeling of the effects of a proposed canal to refill the Dead Sea from the Red Sea. Proposals for the canal have included a possible hydro project.

On behalf of Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the bank previously named Coyne et Bellier of France to perform a feasibility study of the project. The three governments agreed in December 2006 to proceed with a feasibility study of an estimated US$2 billion to US$4 billion project.

The project, to build a 180-kilometer “Two Seas Canal,” is intended to reverse a 25-meter decline in the level of the Dead Sea in the past century. The Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth’s surface, has been shrinking because of increased use of water upstream from the Jordan River, the Dead Sea’s main source. France, the United States, the Netherlands and Japan have signaled their willingness to contribute to the cost of the two-year study.

Any link between the seas might include a hydroelectric plant to capitalize on the drop of about 450 meters from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. It was estimated a hydro plant could have a capacity of 550 megawatts.

As many European airports cleared operations, Egyptian airlines resumed flights to Europe, attempting to transfer more than 17,000 tourists stranded in Egypt. The crisis borne by the volcanic eruption in Iceland, which sent vast ash clouds across much of continental Europe, softened when European transport ministers Monday agreed a deal to cut the size of no-fly zones as airlines and businesses heaped pressure on authorities to reopen European airspace.

On Tuesday, a number of Egyptian airlines offered dozens of flights to help passengers move in and out the country. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) released figures showing that five private airlines operated 33 flights from Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh airports to European destinations. “The majority of flights headed to cities in south Europe, including Rome and Marseilles, as well as to Barcelona. The only cancellations occurred with AMC airlines which had to abort seven flights to Poland and two to France,” said Sameh El-Hefni, ECAA chairman.

The national carrier, EgyptAir, on the other hand resumed flights to six destinations in Europe, including Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Paris, Vienna and Budapest. Brussels, Dusseldorf, Berlin and London remained closed.

Hopes of a resumption of normal air traffic between Egypt and Europe were tempered early week by news that the ash clouds were spewing as far as the southern Mediterranean and may strand Egyptians and remaining tourists further. Reports indicated that at least five Middle East countries were soon to be exposed to volcanic ash in the atmosphere — Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. But by noon yesterday winds had diverted ash clouds away from northern Mediterranean and they appear now to be heading into the Atlantic Ocean.

Nonetheless, officials remain cautious. “We are watching the situation closely in cooperation with European air traffic centres to see if the ash cloud is a threat to air transport,” commented Ahmed Said, chairman of the Air Navigation Company. “At worst, Egyptian air space will not be closed. We have a contingency plan to operate from Upper Egypt airports as well as Red Sea airports. We have also coordinated with aviation authorities to provide airlines crews who may be exposed to volcanic ashes with useful guides,” Said added.

The air transport business has been trying to overcome the negative influence of a troubling 18-month period where a world credit crunch hit the business hard in Egypt, followed by the H1N1 epidemic that crippled air travel for a considerable time. Now, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano is adding salt to open wounds.

Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq warned that the crisis would affect air transport badly and damage poor countries more than rich ones. He declined to comment on possible means to compensate losing businesses. “We are in the middle of a storm. All we can do for now is to try to face the problem and get through it safely and with the least damage. When it is over, we will estimate the losses and consider how to handle them,” Shafiq said in a press conference Sunday.

For EgyptAir, the crisis is another blow to its financial standing. “This will cripple our efforts to improve financial performance,” explained Hussein Massoud, chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company. “We cannot estimate loses on the spot. Yet, the crisis will affect the annual balance in a negative way, putting into consideration the consequences of the world financial crisis that harmed all airlines,” he explained.

Luckily enough, the national carrier did not have any aircraft stranded at European airports, as it did not operate any night flights last Thursday. All the fleet flew back from Europe by mid-day, just before the volcanic eruption.

According to Ibrahim Manaa, head of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN), which supervises all 22 Egyptian airports, the five-day paralysis in air traffic in Europe will mean great losses. “The air navigation business is losing 50,000 euros every day. Cairo International Airport’s loses exceeded $100,000 in addition to LE1.8 millions so far,” Manna explained. “As for other airports, losses are estimated at $600,000,” he added.

Manna further indicated that the reduction in traffic to Egyptian airports ranged at around 30 per cent, while “the traffic at some airports has been reduced by rates of 47 per cent.”

A statement issued by ECAA stated that 89 flights had been cancelled at Cairo International Airport for Egyptian and foreign airlines. Hurghada Airport topped the cancellations list at 421, followed by Sharm El-Sheikh Airport at 253, the majority of which charter flights. Luxor Airport saw 44 flights cancelled, whereas Taba Airport saw 23 cancellations. In addition to delays, the total affected flights exceeded 1,548.

Lufthansa and Air France operated flights Tuesday with aircraft that had been stranded at Cairo International Airport since Thursday. Air Berlin Airlines operated two flights to Munich and Colon. But even with flights resuming, passengers face the prospect of further delays before they can get to their final destinations as airlines clear the backlog.

“We cannot take the stranded passengers instead of the ones who have confirmed bookings. All we can do is to try to provide more alternatives to those who can travel to a near destination where we have capacity,” stated Captain Alaa Ashour, chairman of EgyptAir. “We will also try to operate additional flights if needed. But this is subject to approvals by European airports,” Ashour explained.

EgyptAir said it had re-issued tickets free of charge for passengers with reservations on cancelled flights. On the other hand, the airline operated larger aircraft to Rome, Madrid and Barcelona, so as to transfer more of those who desired to find a way to their final destination through rail transport or other means in Europe.

Travel agents said that reservations to key European airports cannot be made for the time being; that airlines will take at least a week to clear stranded passengers before taking fresh bookings. “Confirmed seats are available only in first class after 28 April. Reservations in economy class are not available. There is a huge waiting list,” said Amr Sidqi, managing director of one travel agency.

The problem of stranded passengers shook the tourism industry in particular in Luxor, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada where official figures indicated that more than 17,000 tourists were in need of accommodation. Governor of Luxor Samir Farag moved immediately with travel agencies to secure the stay of stranded tourists in their hotels. “In fact, the stranded tourists replaced tourists who could not arrive from Europe. Nile cruise boats also accommodated a considerable number of them,” Farag told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Tourists were offered many options: “Either to be transferred to any European destination, or to stay and contact their embassies to afford the accommodation and to secure them financially,” explained Farag. The same happened in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada.

At Cairo International Airport, the scene has been different. Departure halls remained busy with stranded passengers who slept on floors for the first four days, each hoping to take a seat onboard a return flight whenever possible. A number of foreign groupings in Cairo called on compatriots to host citizens of the same nationality in their home. The French League secured accommodation for 50 stranded French passengers in this way.

(Source: Al-Ahram Weekly)

http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=91942

Europeans are still dominating the international visitor market in Egypt, who now comprise 74 per cent of all tourists in the country (up from 69 per cent in the previous year).  Arrivals from India and China were also on the rise, reports PR-inside.com.

An Egypt visa is a permit issued by the Egyptian visa authorities to a person for entry, exit or transit through Egypt. Tourist and Business visas are issued according to the applicant’s status, purpose of visit and passport type.

British and other EU nationals travelling to Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts only, for up to 14 days, do not require a visa but can instead receive a free entry stamp upon arrival. 

The Egypt tourist visa (or Egypt visit visa) is issued with a validity of three months, and is intended solely for applicants wishing to visit the country for the purposes of tourism.  However, applicants must leave upon the visa’s expiry and must not engage in any form of employment while on their visit.  Additionally, Egyptian tourist visas can be issued for either single entry or multiple entries. 
——————————————————————————–

The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in Egypt visa and immigration services.

Article by Jessica Bird, Worldwide Visa Bureau.

http://www.visabureau.com/worldwide/news/26-09-2008/tourism-report-for-egypt-released.aspx

Europeans are still dominating the international visitor market in Egypt, who now comprise 74 per cent of all tourists in the country (up from 69 per cent in the previous year).  Arrivals from India and China were also on the rise, reports PR-inside.com.

An Egypt visa is a permit issued by the Egyptian visa authorities to a person for entry, exit or transit through Egypt. Tourist and Business visas are issued according to the applicant’s status, purpose of visit and passport type.

British and other EU nationals travelling to Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts only, for up to 14 days, do not require a visa but can instead receive a free entry stamp upon arrival. 

The Egypt tourist visa (or Egypt visit visa) is issued with a validity of three months, and is intended solely for applicants wishing to visit the country for the purposes of tourism.  However, applicants must leave upon the visa’s expiry and must not engage in any form of employment while on their visit.  Additionally, Egyptian tourist visas can be issued for either single entry or multiple entries. 
——————————————————————————–

The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in Egypt visa and immigration services.

Article by Jessica Bird, Worldwide Visa Bureau.

http://www.visabureau.com/worldwide/news/26-09-2008/tourism-report-for-egypt-released.aspx

At the beginning of this month Egypt’s leading mobile operator Mobinil launched 3G services, covering large cities, tourist, industrial and corporate centres in Cairo, Alexandria, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Dahab, Taba, Safaga, Marsa Alam, Luxor and Aswan.

Mobinil has been hard at work revamping its network in preparartion for the launch 3G earlier this month

Since agreeing to purchase the 3G licence, Mobinil has since increased the number of installed base stations to more than 6,500, out of which 700 3G base stations and more than 2,100 EDGE-enabled base stations are in place.

Nokia Siemens Networks, along with Huawei has developed Mobinil’s 3G network, while Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola cooperated with Mobinil to establish the 2G portion of the network. This is in addition to the cooperation with Cisco Systems and Ericsson to develop and enhance the network infrastructure.

In April this year Mobinil did say it would delay the introduction of 3G services and payment of an EGP750 million (US$138 million) instalment on the licence fee by about two and a half months. At the time, the operator said the delay was necessitated because the regulatory authorities were late in handing over the frequency band needed for Mobinil to conduct the necessary tests before commercial service began.

Mobinil had been meant to receive the frequency band on January 17 but the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) did not say it was available until March 27, according to Mobinil.
Mobinil is the last of Egypt’s three mobile operators to launch 3G services, having initially refused to pay the licence fee asked by the NTRA.

“The licence condition set the value of a 3G licence (for the incumbents Mobinil and Vodafone Egypt) at 20 per cent of the price of the 2G/3G licence awarded to the third operator,” explained Alex Shalaby, CEO of Mobinil at the beginning of last year. “We thought this was high and elected not to bid for 3G at this time.” Etisalat bid US$2.9 billion to win Egypt’s third mobile licence, valuing the amount required to be paid by the incumbents for 3G licences at US$580 million each.

A primal call from the depths of the ancient waters of a sea, reflecting the reddish hue of its massive mountains above, its coral reefs below, beckons to all. The soul-stirring strains of its song, are gently whispered like the call of the Pied Piper coaxing all to its shores. They hear its summons and they obey. They cross the highest mountains and sail the seven seas to find that magic place simply known as “Sharm.” Beneath the blue skies of Egypt’s wondrous sea resort lies “Sharm el Sheikh.” There they find the happiness their hearts desire, the repose their bodies crave, the euphoria their spirits yearn.

Night life in Sharm

Seduced by its fresh breezes and swaying palms, were world leaders and heads of state such as Bill Clinton, George Bush, Tony Blair, and Nicholas Sarkozy. First they come for business, and then they return for pleasure – pure, pristine, plentiful pleasure. Tales of the Blairs dancing the night away during a recent Christmas Holiday are now part of Sharm’s legendary lore. They come from all walks of life, from the Arab world, Europe, the Far East, South America, and North America. They are confident that at Sharm, they will experience a supreme moment in their lives, for this is vacation heaven. They come to toast their bodies under the blazing reddish sun and with its stunning underwater scenery, they indulge in every water sport known to man. They come to sail, to parasail, to snorkel, to scuba-dive, to windsurf, to canoe, to golf, to bowl, to ride horses, and to bungee- jump. They can even ice-skate. They come with their children to enjoy multiple amenities on a reasonable family budget. They come to attend international conferences held at their state-of-the-art Congress Center, where politicos and moguls mingle work with play. Sharm is everything for everyone.

Last month, the World Economic Forum chose Sharm as its most desired meeting place amidst its dazzling 250 coral reefs housing more than 1000 species of fish. It has earned the name “The City of Peace,” because of the many “peace” conferences, so far futile, held between the Palestinians and Israelis. The magic of Sharm may still fulfil the dream of peace that has eluded us so far. If any place can cast a magic spell, surely it is that Sinai piece of heaven, we call Sharm.

It was quite astounding to discover how famous Sharm has become in just a few short years. Everyone I know outside Egypt is heading for Sharm at one time or another. You read about it in foreign newspapers and magazines. You see pictures of famous models shot on location at its many picturesque bays. You hear its name on the many TV news outlets. They even pronounce it correctly, as it is now ranked as #3 among the world’s most famous resorts.

The site of Sharm el Sheikh was first seen on a Spanish map as early as 1762. It is situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the coastal strip between the Red Seas and Mount Sinai. Once upon a time this was a lazy sleepy village, perched high on a promontory overlooking Ras el Nasrani (Straits of Tiran) at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba,. Its strategic location led to its transformation into a major port for the Egyptian Navy. During the 1956 conflict, it was captured by Israel, but promptly returned in 1957. Permanently under Egyptian control since the Egyptian/Israeli Peace Treaty of 1979 Sharm began to blossom like a maiden discovering her own beauty. Her constant dry and temperate climate divided her year into two seasons, Spring and Summer.

They call it Egypt’s Red Sea Riviera, yet what Riviera affords such perfect weather, such majestic mountains and valleys, several national parks, and one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions — St Catherine’s Monastery, nearby. Hotels and resorts line up the greater resort area from south to north. Its fine bays, Sharm el Maya, Na’ama Bay, Garden Bay, Tiger Bay, and Nabq Bay of Ras el Nasrani, house some of the finest hotels. Every chain hotel you can think of is represented here from the Hiltons to the Marriotts, the Four Seasons, the Hyatts, the Ritz Carltons and the Sheratons, among others. With only 3 resorts in 1982, it reached 92 resorts in 2000, and now boasts 168 with promises of more to come.

One of the earliest establishments there was the Movenpick hotel which hosted the second summit following the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada. Many of their de-luxe rooms are named after the Arab and Israeli leaders who occupied them during the duration of that conference.

The minute you land at the spectacular new airport at Sharm, opened May 2008, you are instantly struck by an air of cosmopolitan bliss. Every nationality, every language, every colour on the planet is there, engaged in discovering the charm of Sharm.

Throughout history, visitors came to marvel at Egypt’s many wonders. Today their destination lies far away from the Nile and the Pyramids; those have already been seen or will have to wait for another day. Twenty percent of tourists on international flights come for the sun and fun enveloped in an exotic package of perfection. Sharm may be only one of many colourful Red Sea resorts, but it is the one they are all anxious to discover. It may well be Egypt’s other wonder, as appealing, as alluring, as amazing as the face of the Sphinx. This other face of Egypt, offers a whirlpool of heady pleasures, a potent elixir of all possible joys of human existence. With this gushing expression of unabashed pride, should not your next holiday be a feast at Sharm?

Your own special hopes,

Your own special dreams

Bloom on the hillsides

And shine in the streams

Bali Ha’i from South Pacific,

Lyrics by Richard Rogers

They are particularly prevalent in the Red Sea coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, seriously damaging the reputation of tourism in Egypt.Khartiya sometimes offer drugs to tourists, while the cruises they organise are normally on unlicensed boats in a poor state of repair.

Of course, the owners of these boats don’t pay any taxes.They are also thought to have been responsible for a terrible accident on May 1 when a bus carrying European and North American tourists hit a concrete barrier, overturned and caught fire, killing nine passengers and injuring 30 more. The vehicle was travelling down a desert highway on the Sinai Peninsula, about 40 miles from Suez, when tragedy struck.

Read More