Middle EastOperations

Suez Canal expansion to be completed by July next year

The Suez Canal expansion project will be completed by July 2023 according to the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

The SCA announced accelerated plans to extend a second channel of the canal and to enlarge an existing channel after the Ever Given containership ran aground and blocked the waterway for six days last year.

The southernmost 30 km of the canal, where the Ever Given became grounded, is set to be widened 40 m eastward and deepened to 22 m.

“This will improve ship navigation by 28% in this difficult part of the canal,” SCA chairman Osama Rabie said in an interview with Reuters yesterday.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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