Egypt's sparsely populated Sinai region is expected to breathe new life after decades of neglect as four new tunnels being constructed under the Suez Canal to connect the Sinai Peninsula to the Egyptian mainland are near completion and set to open soon.

The four new vehicle tunnels — two of them are north of Ismailia and the others are south of Port Said — are set to open in March or April, Ahmed El Abd, board chairman of Egypt's Concord for Engineering and Contracting, which is in charge of constructing the north Ismailia tunnels, told local media on Nov. 24, 2018.

Building the four tunnels is part of the Suez Canal Area Development Project, which was launched in August 2014 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The project aims at transforming the Suez Canal from being a mere waterway to an integrated development zone that includes commercial, industrial, logistic and residential areas, which contribute to supporting the Egyptian economy.

Before digging of the tunnels started less than three years ago, the Armed Forces Engineering Authority (AFEA), which is supervising their construction, had signed a contract with German firm Herrenknecht to manufacture and supply four giant tunnel boring machines. In November 2015, parts of the machines arrived in Egypt and the assembling process was completed in March 2016.