Developing the sketch design for the proposed 28 km Yemen-Djibouti fixed link is the first step in connecting the Arabian Peninsula with Africa.

The link is part of an ambitious development plan for the areas on both sides of the Red Sea's Bab El-Mandeb Strait. As part of the development, two modern green cities are to be founded on each coast which today offers nothing but barren mountains.

COWI prepared the sketch design, established functional requirements, estimated quantities and construction cost as well as the construction schedule for the bridge on behalf of Middle East Development LLC in Dubai. Factors such as the location and the challenges of building in deep water heavily trafficked by shipping to and from the Suez Canal were taken into account.

A massive scale link The Red Sea's Bab El-Mandeb Strait is divided by the island of Perim. The strait east of Perim is only 3.5 km wide and approximately 20 m deep but the western strait is more than 20 km wide and up to 300 m deep.

The length and the necessary navigational clearance west of Perim requires a multi-span suspension bridge of 12.7 km, with the remainder being approach bridges. The suspension bridge has 4 spans of 2700 m and continuous cables from one anchor block to the other. The concrete pylons will be founded on water depths of up to 300 m and at the same time tower 400 m over the surface of the water to support the ultra-long span suspension bridge. The pylons will thereby be up to 700 m and exceptionally strong.