August date set for new Suez Canal opening
Cairo: August 6 has been announced as the official launch date for the new expanded Suez Canal. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will be on hand to officiate at the ceremony.
“The new Suez Canal is more than just a new waterway and an astonishing feat of engineering. It is a catalyst for the Egyptian people which will unleash a renewed sense of pride and a more prosperous future,” Admiral Mohab Mameesh, chairman and managing director of the Suez Canal Authority, said yesterday.
More than 210m tons of sand has been excavated for a new 72 km canal. While originally the plan was to spend three years building the new waterway, authorities demanded it be completed in just 12 months, something that Mameesh claims is now firmly on track.
August 6 will mark the first time traffic has flowed simultaneously north and south through the Red Sea – Mediterranean crossing, doubling the current daily ship capacity. The authority expects its annual revenue to jump from $5.3bn in 2015 to $13.2bn in 2023.