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The bridge, which crosses the Nile just north
of central Cairo, is a key link in a highway stretching from the
Red Sea in the east to Egypt's northwestern Mediterranean coast,
and is meant to help reduce congestion in the capital.
Traffic ground to a halt in parts of central Cairo on Wednesday
morning as Sisi traveled to open the bridge with ministers and
military generals.
At its widest, the bridge has six traffic lanes in each
direction and measures 67.3 meters (222 feet) across. A regional
director for the Guinness Book of World Records present at the
opening said that makes it the world's widest suspension bridge.
Around one million cubic meters of concrete as well as 1,400 km
(2,268 miles) of steel wire for 160 suspension cables were used
in its construction, according to a presentation given at the
formal opening.
The bridge crosses the Nile's Warraq Island, which has an
estimated 100,000 residents, some of whom have protested against
planned demolitions on the island and plans to develop it into a
"modern residential community".
On an inspection visit to the suspension bridge last month, Sisi
denied reports the island could be sold to investors and said
the state could not forcefully evict residents.
Other prestige projects launched under Sisi include an expansion
of the Suez Canal, completed in 2015, and the building of a new
capital in the desert east of Cairo that is currently under
construction.
(Reporting by Aidan Lewis, Mahmoud Mourad and Ahmed Tolba;
Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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