(CNN) – Egypt says a newly built 36-kilometer concrete and wire barrier around Sharm el-Sheikh will help protect tourism at the Red Sea resort, on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula.
Officials in southern Sinai hope to revitalize tourism, which was affected by the turmoil following Egypt’s uprising in 2011, the fall of a Russian passenger jet in Sinai in 2015 and the coronavirus pandemic. In 2005, bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh killed dozens in one of Egypt’s most deadly militant attacks.
The security barrier is made of concrete slabs with sections of wire fence that separate the resort from the surrounding desert. Some of the signs are marked with black peace symbols.
Anyone entering the city on the highway must pass through one of the four gates equipped with cameras and scanners.
A police guard at the Ruwaysat entrance to the cement security barrier built around the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on February 6, 2021.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Sharm el-Sheikh lies some 360 km (224 miles) south of the northern Mediterranean coast of Sinai, where an insurgency of Islamic militants has been concentrated.
“The distance between them is enormous, and there is great security with the Second Army of Egypt protecting North Sinai, and the Third Army protecting South Sinai,” South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda told reporters in a tour of the area on the weekend.
“They will be searched, security cameras will identify them, the vehicles will be scanned, so that when they arrive in the city, it will be after a complete search operation”.
A museum that houses ancient Egyptian artifacts was opened in Sharm el-Sheikh last year amid efforts to diversify tourist activities at the beach resort. A university named after King Salman of Saudi Arabia was also recently opened in the city.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Sharm el-Sheikh frequently hosted international summits attended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.