EGYPT-SUEZ CANAL/DECORATIONS Egypt prepares for Suez celebrations

Record ID: 145019

  • Title: EGYPT-SUEZ CANAL/DECORATIONS Egypt prepares for Suez celebrations
  • Date: 5th August 2015
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (AUGUST 4, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FLAGS AND BALLOONS IN TAHRIR SQUARE TO CELEBRATE NEW SUEZ CANAL OPENING TRAFFIC AND BANNERS PROMOTING NEW SUEZ CANAL SIGN READING IN ARABIC "SUEZ CANAL, FROM THE MOTHER OF WORLD TO THE WHOLE WORLD" VARIOUS OF TAHRIR SQUARE SIGN READING IN ARABIC "WE'RE REVIVING THE EGYPTIAN ECONOMY - SUEZ CANAL" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CAIRO
  • Embargoed: 20th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAEZYO3ZX3IXB878NV8B0NJO1KW
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The streets of Cairo are adorned with balloons, banners and flags signalling a momentous moment in the North African state's history.
    On Thursday (August 6) Egypt will inaugurate the New Suez Canal, 11 months after the army began constructing the $8 billion canal alongside the existing 145-year-old Suez Canal.
    The new waterway, a project which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes will help expand trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
    With the Egyptian flag flying high in some of the main squares across the country's capital, many Egyptians welcome the move. But say other sectors are also in need of investment.
    "This is a great jump in Egypt's history and civilization and it proves that Egypt is the centre of the Middle East, and this is going to lead to great prosperity for Egypt, God willing, and the projects that will be built surrounding the canal, will provide jobs for a lot of people, and God willing, it'll benefit Egypt majorly,'' said Cairo resident Essam Nour Eldin.
    "The acceleration of activating the projects surrounding the canal - that's the main source. We must accelerate efforts to activate these projects that you said you were going to build around the canal - because they will provide work and bring in income and introduce many tunnels for investment,'' he added.
    The existing canal earns Egypt around $5 billion per year. The New Suez Canal, which will allow two-way traffic of larger ships, is supposed to increase revenues by 2023 to $15 billion.
    For Egyptians like Nadia Batal, she sees it as being a great historic moment that she says should act as a trigger to improve infrastructure in the country.
    "This is a very happy occasion. I'm sure all Egyptians are happy and are feeling like something good is happening, and not something small - we're talking about the Suez Canal - it's as if we are present during the building of the pyramids. I hope this is the first step of everything - just like in a very short period, we were able to dig this new canal, we can also start working on infrastructure in the slums, and limited projects for these who have graduated years ago, and many other reforms are needed in the country, but they must happen through all of the different institutions, in every governorate and every district - every area must carry out its duties the right way and everyone must carry out their role responsibly - then everything will be fixed,'' she said.
    The Suez Canal is a vital source of hard currency for Egypt, particularly since the 2011 uprising that scared off tourists and foreign investment.
    The New Suez Canal will reduce navigation time for ships to 11 hours from about 22.
    The government also plans to build an international industrial and logistics hub near the Suez Canal that it expects will eventually make up about a third of the Egyptian economy.
    Egypt has declared August 6 a public holiday to inaugurate the new waterway.
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