4 ms·

The real alternative that gets discussed is an Eilat -> Be'er Sheva -> Ashdod canal, in Israel. See recent discussion for example: https://thearabweekly.com/shi

The real alternative that gets discussed is an Eilat -> Be'er Sheva -> Ashdod canal, in Israel. See recent discussion for example: https://thearabweekly.com/ship-crisis-revives-russian-israeli-talk-alternatives-suez-canal https://thearabweekly.com/ship-crisis-revives-russian-israel... Basically the Israelis don't have the short-term capital (neither financial nor human) to build it, so the real question is whether the Chinese are interested in initiating the endeavor.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
k__ 6y ago
Should be a good idea to give Israel more leverage in the middle east.
fiftyfifty 6y ago
There were talks about building a train from Eilat to Ashdod, this article claims it's not economically feasable: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/suez-canal-ship-eilat-can-t-become-alternative-global-shipping-1.9668705 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/suez-canal-ship-eilat-ca... Looking at the terrain in Israel building a canal from Eliat to anywhere does not look possible, it would be several orders of magnitude more difficult than building the Suez canal was.
- solatic 6y ago
  The economic feasibility arguments presume an inability to expand the Port of Eilat any further than the current, extremely narrow border that Israel holds with the Red Sea. Presumably any serious contender with Suez would be a joint effort with the Jordanians at Aqaba, possibly with the Saudis as well at Haql (i.e. focus on building a canal along the Israeli/Jordanian border, and build an oil pipeline terminal starting at Haql, for sheer lack of room otherwise). While the Negev terrain is uneven, it's also sparsely populated. The land is mostly either nature preserve or reserved for military training. Most of the debate would involve who would be on the hook for the cost of construction, as well as how best to balance the canal route vs. pre-existing nature reserves.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

k__ 6y ago

Should be a good idea to give Israel more leverage in the middle east.

fiftyfifty 6y ago

There were talks about building a train from Eilat to Ashdod, this article claims it's not economically feasable: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/suez-canal-ship-eilat-can-t-become-alternative-global-shipping-1.9668705 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/suez-canal-ship-eilat-ca... Looking at the terrain in Israel building a canal from Eliat to anywhere does not look possible, it would be several orders of magnitude more difficult than building the Suez canal was.

solatic 6y ago
The economic feasibility arguments presume an inability to expand the Port of Eilat any further than the current, extremely narrow border that Israel holds with the Red Sea. Presumably any serious contender with Suez would be a joint effort with the Jordanians at Aqaba, possibly with the Saudis as well at Haql (i.e. focus on building a canal along the Israeli/Jordanian border, and build an oil pipeline terminal starting at Haql, for sheer lack of room otherwise). While the Negev terrain is uneven, it's also sparsely populated. The land is mostly either nature preserve or reserved for military training. Most of the debate would involve who would be on the hook for the cost of construction, as well as how best to balance the canal route vs. pre-existing nature reserves.