Madbouly inaugurates the historic Damietta Bridge "Bridge of civilization" After completing its development and rehabilitation work
Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly opened, this Saturday evening, as part of his tour in Damietta Governorate, the historic Damietta Bridge “Bridge of Civilization”, after carrying out its development and rehabilitation work to restore its role as an enlightenment and cultural center.
It is considered an enlightenment and cultural center. The Damietta Bridge is an archaeological extension of the Abu El-Ela Iron Bridge, which crossed the Nile River, linking the upscale Zamalek neighborhood and the popular Bulaq Abu El-Ela neighborhood. Work on its construction began in 1908, and it was opened in 1912 during the reign of the Khedive Abbas Helmy. The construction company supervised the construction of the bridge. The French (Vive Lille) which was closed in the fifties, and the engineer responsible for its construction was the Frenchman Eiffel, who built the famous French Eiffel Tower. As for the implementation of the moving part of the bridge, it was carried out by the “Sherzer” company. The development and rehabilitation work for the historic Damietta Bridge was completed within the framework of the protocol concluded between the governorate and the Ministry of Petroleum, which was signed in July 2021, where the Ministry assigned the Egyptian fertilizer production company “MOPCO” and the Arab Contractors to implement the project. As a community participation from them.
For her part, Damietta Governor, Dr. Manal Awad, said that the bridge carries a history when it was built as a bridge on the Nile River in Imbaba, on the same date as the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1890, and using the same type of equipment and iron used in construction. Until it was moved to Damietta in 1927, until it was moved in front of the Egyptian Public Library in 2007, with thoughtful scientific and engineering planning by Dr. Mohamed Fathi ElBaradei, Governor of Damietta and former Minister of Housing, where the angle of inclination of the bridge in its new location was chosen in a way that gave a sense of dynamism as an alternative to The position perpendicular or parallel to the Nile River; As the angle of inclination is 34 degrees, which refers to its old axis in Imbaba in Giza Governorate, and during the period from that year until 2011, a major cultural and civilizational shift took place and it became a cultural and enlightening center and a destination for disseminating various forms of arts, and then came the events of the January 2011 revolution; It was subjected to acts of vandalism and looting of its contents.
The Governor of Damietta indicated the governorate’s keenness to implement the project to restore the role of this great bridge and maximize the benefit from it as a monument listed by Ministry of Antiquities Resolution No. 35 of 2013; In line with the state’s vision of paying attention to archaeological monuments to contribute to strengthening local economies, “Mobco” Company showed Its willingness to implement this plan with its funding as community participation. In this context, the Governor of Damietta stated that the project included maintaining the bridge’s body, insulating it against weather factors, and equipping it with modern basics and systems, in addition to rehabilitating the square opposite the bridge. To include seating, a stage, and an area for various activities.
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