Egypt plans to build a $1bn tunnel that will run under the Suez Canal at Port Said.

The Egyptian government is seeking investment in the Sinai peninsula and in the cities along the Suez Canal.

The tunnel will be built 19 kilometres south of the canal’s northern entrance and will comprise one railway line and two roads.

While Cairo has not yet secured financing for the scheme, it will not be funded through the state budget, according to local media reports.

Egypt already has two points where cars can cross the waterway, one at a tunnel near the city of Suez and a bridge near Ismailia.