Hi Egypt hires German firm to bore transport tunnels under Suez Canal.

Hi Egypt hires German firm to bore transport tunnels under Suez Canal.

CAIRO/FRANKFURT (Reuter) - Egypt will use machines made by a German firm to bore at least four tunnels under the Suez Canal, part of an $8 billion project to expand the waterway that the government hopes will raise revenues and foreign currency reserves.

Unlisted Herrenknecht AG was discussing contract details, a spokesman for the company said on Friday, giving no details.

Kamal al-Waziri, chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces' engineering division, had said on Thursday that the army had contracted a German company to provide machines for three car and train tunnels in Port Said, the northern outlet of the canal into the Mediterranean Sea. The tunnels are being built by Orascom Construction and other Arab contractors.

Half of the budget for expanding the canal was allocated for building six tunnels, the Suez Canal Authority said last week.

Egypt has been battered by political turmoil and violence for more than three years and the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes the expansion will almost triple revenues from the waterway by 2023 to $13.5 billion from $5 billion.

Sisi, the former army chief who has put infrastructure mega-projects at the top of his economic agenda, called for the new canal to be built within one year, instead of the five years recommended by international experts.

The development will run alongside the existing 145-year-old waterway - the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

(Reporting by Stephen Kalin in Cairo and Hans Seidenstücker in Frankfurt; Editing by Louise Ireland).

Hi Echoes Of Mubarak!. Sissi is militarizing the courts system. Sound familiar?

Hi Echoes Of Mubarak!.

Sissi is militarizing the courts system. 

Sound familiar?

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has passed a law that extends the reach of the country's military courts and places all "public and vital facilities under military jurisdiction for the next two years and directs state prosecutors to refer any crimes at those places to their military counterparts," according to a report released by Human Rights Watch Monday. The new law allows for the militarization of prosecution of protesters and other government opponents -- a mandate similar to those implemented during the reign of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in February 2011 at the start of the Arab Spring.

Under Mubarak, Egypt's military arrested nearly 12,000 civilians for various charges, including inciting violence at protests, during the revolution in 2011, and brought them before military tribunals. According to officials from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt tried 11,879 civilians in military tribunals from Jan. 28 to Aug. 29, 2011. Of that number, more than 8,000 were convicted.

Now, under Sisi, Egypt is getting back to widespread civilian military trials. Sisi issued the new law just days after an attack in the Sinai Peninsula killed dozens of soldiers, the deadliest attack yet in an insurgency that has grown since the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi by SCAF in July 2013. According to the Human Rights Watch report, since the ouster of Morsi, Egypt's military courts have tried at least 140 civilians. It is still unclear what charges each individual faced, but many were arrested during protests against Morsi's removal from power.

“This law represents another nail in the coffin of justice in Egypt,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director, said in the report. “Its absurdly broad provisions mean that many more civilians who engage in protests can now expect to face trial before uniformed judges subject to the orders of their military superiors.”

Sisi's crackdown on civilian protestors started earlier this year during the beginning of the school semester. Egyptian police officers armed with tear gas canisters stormed lecture halls at Alexandria University, arresting and wounding dozens. Students at other universities such as Bani Swaif and Assuit were also protesting the removal of Morsi. In one weekend, Egyptian police officers arrested more than 90 students. On Nov. 16, a criminal court in Cairo referred five students from al-Azhar University to the military because of their involvement in the protests. The students have been charged with joining a terrorist organization, displaying force, threatening to use violence, possession of Molotov cocktails and vandalism, according to Human Rights Watch.

“This new decree is pernicious and contrary to basic standards of justice,” Whitson said in the report. “Egypt’s authorities should annul all the military court verdicts against civilians handed down since the new government took power, and President el-Sisi needs to act quickly to amend his decree.”

Historically, Egypt's military has influenced politics. Mubarak formed strong ties between his administration and SCAF, relying on the army to take over most of the security in the country. The military, in essence, replaced the police forces. Since Mubarak's time in office, the military has remained in tact and has continued to influence the political process in Egypt. Sisi, like Mubarak, is supportive of SCAF and its power to rule in the streets.

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Hi KEPCO to build Korean Nuclear Plant in Egypt!.

Hi KEPCO to build Korean Nuclear Plant in Egypt!.

Lee Hee-yong (4th from left), chief of the KEPCO nuclear plant export division, poses with colleagues for a photo commemorating a signed working agreement with Egypt's Arab Contractors in Cairo, Egypt, on Nov. 5.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) held “Korean Nuclear Industry Roadshow” at Cairo, Egypt from Nov. 5 to 6.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, and Daelim Building participated in the event to promote the export of Korean nuclear plants to Egypt.

The participants discussed ways for mutual cooperation with the topics of the excellence of Korean nuclear plants, workforce training, and localization.

KEPCO said that South Korea signed an MOU with Arab Contractors, the number one builder in Egypt's construction industry, gaining a competitive advantage over other nations in the Egyptian nuclear plant market.

The Egyptian government is planning to give public notice of an international bid for building the second new nuclear plant at El-Dabaa early next year.

continue reading at Business Korea.