EGYPT was very complex, but it has always been. In many instances we found that the economic effects varied tremendously between the Cairo metropolitan area, what might be called central Egypt, and southern Egypt. It was consistent that stopping the sprawl of Cairo and nearby cities not only improved the quality of life there, but also helped the blooming of areas that absorbed the excess population.
It is somewhat presumptuous for a junior culture to be offering advice to one of the senior civilizations on the planet. Notwithstanding, our guess would be unless President Mubarak had a liver transplant last March if he had cancer surgery in Germany last March he will be lucky to live until September. He almost certainly did not optimize Egypt's
economy, but we fail to see what the rush to push him out of office is. It is not like there is some Messiah waiting in the wings. It will take months to organize biometrically validated elections anyway. Our advice would be start planning the maglevs now, pick a leader who can deliver them and the new cities efficiently, and let President Mubarak serve out his term if he can. He has given his life to Egypt.
YEMEN without maglevs often was subject to de facto and actual divisions, usually as a result of uncivil wars. A roughly east-west rail link works wonders for stabilizing the country and providing an appropriate standard of living.
In particular, there was much to be gained from building a multi-modal port - not only would this recapitulate the time-honored role of Yemen as an exchange point between Africa and Asia, but it would lessen the vulnerability of many economies to a disaster in the Persian Gulf. Regardless of whether the trigger is a seismic event, a reactor melting down or an atomic bomb, the massive displacement of water in the form of tsunamis inside the Persian Gulf would be very disruptive.