Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir inaugurated on Saturday a maritime transport line between Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.
The first voyage for the ‘Queen Nefertiti’ ferry started on the transport line, in the presence of the president and leaderships of the Arab Bridge Maritime Company and the head and leaderships of the Red Sea Ports Authority.
Wazir boarded the ferry Queen Nefertiti, which belongs to the Arab Bridge Maritime Company, from Sharm el-Sheikh to Hurghada on a two-and-a-half-hour long cruise journey.
The launch of this shipping line is part of the Transport Ministry’s efforts to encourage tourism programs, plans and diversify tourism products, the Minister said.
He added that this line will be a bridge linking tourist areas in Sharm el-Sheikh, St. Catherine, Taba, Hurghada and Luxor.
The “Queen Nefertiti” is scheduled to make regular weekly trips that will help facilitate the visit of tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh to Hurghada, Marsa Alam, al-Gouna and Luxor, as well as enabling and facilitating the visit of tourists from Hurghada to Sharm el-Sheikh, St. Catherine, Dahab and Taba, Wazir said.
It will also transport workers, cars and goods, and this shipping line will contribute to reduce the distance between Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada to about about two-and-a-half-hours, instead of taking over eight hours by road.
The minister called on cooperation between the Arab Bridge Maritime Company, the Red Sea Ports Authority, and the various port agencies in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada to continue facilitating and speeding up procedures to ensure the sustainability of the navigation line’s service.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
