CAIRO — A 2,500-mile navigational shipping line connecting Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea via the Nile River should be up and flowing in 2024, 11 years after it was first approved.

The African Union Steering Committee, headed by Egypt, is directing construction of the project, which is part of the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative. The enterprise is being carried out under the umbrella of the New Partnership for Africa's Development. 

The project entails building a shipping lane along the Nile River for small- and medium-size commercial vessels to boost bilateral trade among nine countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. The line will stretch more than 4,000 kilometers (about 2,500 miles) along the White Nile all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The project was widely welcomed, as it will contribute to the countries' development, and has gained even more importance since Ethiopia's bid to join the project in January.

The undertaking is also considered a component of the Alexandria-Cape Town land road project. The land venture is currently operating under the umbrella of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and links southern Africa to its north. The road is about 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) long and goes through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon and South Africa. The African Development Bank and other international organizations are financing the road's operation, which is being handled jointly by several Egyptian, Saudi and Sudanese companies, among others.