UAE's Dh18m longest steel arch bridge enters Guinness World Records

March 7, 2019

Ras Al Khaimah, Mar 7: The Ministry of Infrastructure Development has entered the Guinness World Records with the longest steel arch bridge in the world that stands at Dh18 million.

The 32.37 metres Shamal Bridge is part of the Ras Al Khaimah ring road the ministry has recently accomplished, according to Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, ministry of infrastructure development.

The Shamal bridge in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is now 6.37 metres longer than the used-to-be longest cable-stayed steel arch bridge in Poland which is only 26 metres long.

"The Shamal arch steel bridge that can accommodate up to 2,000 vehicles per hour is much better than concrete bridges in terms of economic advantages."

It has been completed in half the time needed for regular concrete bridges, he added.

"The bridge, with a life time of 104 years, does not need any regular maintenance as is the case with other bridges, and can take up heavy weights."

The new arch bridge is part of the second phase of the Emirates road which links the northern emirate with the entire country, he pointed out.

"Arch steel structures consist of corrugated iron sheets that are installed as per pre-approved designs in view of project requirements."

The sheets of steel iron are then manufactured, coated and plated in the factory, he elaborated. "These plates and accessories are then transported to the required site in special containers for installation."

Recently, the ministry has completed the construction of the Awafi bridge, the biggest in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, on the same ring road.

"The six-lane bridge is being built on the arterial 30km RAK ring road, according to Eng Ahmed Al Hammadi, director of road department at the ministry.

"The RAK ring road, connecting the northern and southern parts of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, stands at Dh450 million."

The Awafi bridge will give visitors and campers easy and convenient access to one of the main heritage scenic sites in the country, he explained. "This big bridge consists of six lanes; three in each direction. Two more lanes, one in each direction, can be added later if needed."

"As such, the ministry will be completing six bridges, six subways, and lots of rain water tunnels, on the RAK ring road."

Some entries will also be developed as per public request, he pointed out. "Up to 7km of the ring road that connects it with the Emirates road, will be paved as well."

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Israeli forces invade southwestern Syria, set up checkpoint in Quneitra

News Network

November 24,2025

Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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