EGYPT-SUEZ CANAL Egypt finishes work on New Suez Canal

Record ID: 145787

  • Title: EGYPT-SUEZ CANAL Egypt finishes work on New Suez Canal
  • Date: 29th July 2015
  • Summary: ISMAILIA, EGYPT (JULY 29, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** NEW SUEZ CANAL SHIPS IN CANAL VARIOUS OF DIGGERS ON BANKS OF CANAL VARIOUS OF SHIPS IN CANAL BULLDOZER ON BANK OF CANAL NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CHAIRMAN OF THE SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY, MOHAB MAMEESH, SAYING: "God willing, on the sixth of August we are announcing the sta
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7CVM4HHAOTIH0RDPSDEG5B5F4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Egypt has finished building its New Suez Canal, its overseer announced on Wednesday (July 29).
    The project is seen as a symbol of national pride by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a major chance to stimulate an economy suffering double-digit unemployment.
    The army led work 11 months ago on the $8-billion (£5.1 billion) canal, flanking the existing, 145-year-old waterway.
    Sisi had ordered that the canal be completed within a year.
    It is part of a larger undertaking to expand trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
    The new waterway will be officially unveiled at a lavish event to be attended by Sisi and foreign dignitaries on August 6, Mohab Mameesh, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority announced on Wednesday.
    "God willing, on the sixth of August we are announcing the start of the New Suez Canal operation. Work will start and we will start receiving all kinds of ships. With the orders of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi we will start operating the new Suez Canal from the first day until the end of time. God willing the Suez Canal will continue operating and will continue being a symbol of Egyptian efficiency and capability to challenge and achieve," he told a news conference.
    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 existing canal earns Egypt around $5 billion per year. The new canal, which will allow two-way traffic of larger ships, is supposed to increase revenues by 2023 to $15 billion.
    It 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.
    Mameesh said work on a new side channel connecting East Port Said to the Mediterranean would begin on August 7.
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