Suez Canal expansion yields fruits 5 years after inauguration, authorities record US$27.5B in revenues

CAIRO – The expansion of Egypt’s Suez Canal has yielded immense economic gains to the North African nation five years after it was officially inaugurated by Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

Data from the Suez Canal Authority reveal that revenues from the Suez Canal are reported to have hit a record $27.2 billion during the last 5 years.

The canal, according to the Suez Canal Authority, facilitated transportation of 90,000 ships with a net tonnage of 5.5 billion tons during the 5 years that it has been operating under enhanced capacity.

In the first 8 months of 2020 alone, the canal’s revenues hit US$3.3 billion, through crossing 11,250 ships, with a total net tonnage of 693 million tons.

The impressive performance by the Suez Canal was made by its managing authority during a celebration to mark 5 year since the opening of the new Suez Canal.

Five years ago, the US$1.25 billion New Suez Canal was inaugurated with the aim of facilitating traffic in both directions and minimizing the waiting time for transiting ships.

The main goal of the Suez Canal, both the original and the new one, is to link the Red Sea in eastern Egypt, through Suez city on the Gulf of Suez, with the Mediterranean Sea in the northern part of the country.

The 35-kilometer New Suez Canal runs parallel to the old one and was drilled in a record time as it took only less than a year to be announced completed.

Both canals reportedly house 12 percent of international trade, through the huge commercial ships passing through.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, the New Suez Canal can accommodate commercial vessels with up to 66 feet vessel draft (about 20 meters), as the new waterway is 24-meter deep and 317-meter wide at water level.

Head of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said that the canal was the real starting point towards adopting an integrated development strategy to develop the canal’s navigation course, and to maintain its leading position.

The authority hopes that the number of ships crossing the canal daily will increase from around 50 currently to 97 by 2023, thanks to the new canal and that the Suez Canal revenues will rise to over 13 billion in the same year.

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