The Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Shohada 25 January Bridge or the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El Qantara. The Arabic "al qantara" means "the bridge". The bridge links the continents of Africa and Asia.
The bridge was built with assistance from the Japanese government. The contractor was PentaOcean Construction.
The Japanese grant, accounting for 60% of the construction cost (or 13.5 billion yen), was agreed to during the visit of then-President Mubarak to Japan in March 1995, as part of a larger project to develop the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt bore the remaining 40% (9 billion yen). The bridge opened in October 2001.
The bridge, which has a Шаблон:Convert clearance over the canal and is Шаблон:Convert long, consists of a Шаблон:Convert cable stayed main span and two Шаблон:Convert long approach spans. The height of the two main pylons supporting the main span is Шаблон:Convert each. The towers were designed in the shape of Pharaonic obelisks.
The clearance under the bridge is 70 meters, which defines, therefore, the admissible maximum height of 68 mabove the waterline (Suezmax) of ships that can pass through the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal Bridge was part of a major drive to develop the areas surrounding the Suez Canal, including other projects such as the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel under the Suez Canal (completed in 1983), the El Ferdan Railway Bridge, and the Suez Canal overhead line crossing.