On May 3, the Saudi English-language daily Arab News reported that the construction of a $3bn causeway linking the Saudi region of Tabuk to Sharm el Sheikh would begin in 10 days. 
However President Hosni Mubarak denies the existence of such a plan, telling the state-owned Al-Messa that a causeway at the entrance of Sharm el-Sheikh would harm tourism and would also be a security threat. “A causeway piercing through Sharm el-Sheikh would cause damage to a number of hotels and tourism establishments,” - Mubarak told the daily. It “would harm the calm nature (of the place) and its security which would force tourists to go elsewhere, and this is something I will never accept.”