89 8 ' > .. j8 Harbour, and conveyed fifteen German prize ships from Suez or Port Said to Alexandria. It ma; 'be recorded'that in the month of January 1916, 204 transports, totalling over million tens, entered and ‘left Alexandria, while on one occasion there were in that harbour no less than 137 steamers, of a tptal tonnage of 700,000 tons, and 77 sailing vessels.

In the year 1916-17, the Administration’s workshcms at Alexandria, in addition to their usual work, supplied labour costing £E. 23,870, and handled material to the value of approximately £E. 30,000 for the Naval Transport and Ordnance Services, The work included extensive repairs to a number of sloops, tugs, and transports, small repairs to 120 different ships, an important amount of ordnance work, and the salvage of the Steamship “ Irthington,’’ In 1917-18 the cost of labour supplied and material handled was slightly less, but a variety of valuable work was done, including the conversion of several ships to cari7 troops and horses, large repairs to tugs and transport, the conversion of sailing vessels into lighters, the construction of 66 surf boats, the salvage of the steamship “Quarta,” and the ti’ansformation of a sliding slip into a roller slip to meet naval requirements.

In 1918-19 the workshops executed some 1,200 orders, less than half of which were placed by the Ports, and Lights Administration itself; with the diminution of the requirements of the naval authorities a large amount of work was imdertaken for other Government departments.

The Harbour Works Department of the Ports and Lights Administration has been able to carry out the necessary maintenance of quays by repairing and renovating pavements, executing certain minor improvements; but new works have been delayed by the difficulty of obtaining materials. The most important new works which are in prepress are at Suez, where very large harbour extensions are being carried out, chie% in order to provide for’ the oil trade and the bunkering of oilburning ships. These works were begun in July 1918, and by November of that year the yards were in full activity. The northern and southern sides of the petroleum basin have now been completed, and the lower parts of the southern breakwater and the two branches of the western breakwater have been carried to the level of low tide; the dredging of the entrance channel and of its prolongation into the inner part of the harbour is approaching completion. Other new works at Suez have bem the construction of a small quay near the Custom house in Suez Creek, and of a slip for hydroplanes. At Alexandria the important constructional work of Quay E and K has been continued; Quay E has now been completely filled up, the quay walls finished, and bollards and risk ladders installed; two sheds will be built on this quay in the course of the present year. The exterior breakwater has been extended and reinforced, a platform has been laid on the timber quay breakwater, and m 1914 a new quay with sheds for the storage of nitrates was completed and opened to commerce.

67. Main Roads and Bridges. roads at present maintained by the Main Roads Department is 1,484 bilom. in Upper Egypt and 2,293 kilom. in Lower Egypt. -All road construction, whether of a permanent or temporary nature, is carried out by this Department, which is also responsible for the maintenance of road bridges outside municipal areas, ihe estimated expenditure of the Department for 1919-1920 was £E 127 304 besides which Provincial Council funds to the amount of £E. 96,391 were available lor the construction of new roads, fl®c®mber 1919 this Department took over the Bridges Service, whose functions are the maintenance and working of the Nile bridges in Cairo and the designinff or road bridges throughout the country. ° ® 68. Inland Navigation Department. The Inland Navigation Department was constituted in May 1919. In July it over the registmtion r*"? HrjQf.o Tv/rQr>i\o-nior»i 4. 4."u« —xycptnumcjuu Wits uujusbibui-ea in iviay luiu, in uuiy it n -p ST® Sstration of boats from the Mechanical Department of the Ministry I number of boats registered between the 1st April and the 31st ecember, 1919, was 7,942, of which 900 were registered for the first time. An improved method of registration is now being considered.

ihe Department has carried out the transport of 14,000 tons of goods for Government departments and the British military authorities.

Apart from these activities the work of the Department has been chiefly of a pre iminary nature. A system has been devised of recording the movements of aU [3437 y~2] House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.