President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended Saturday the one year anniversary of the New Suez Canal project, which was opened in a grand ceremony this day last year.
The mega-project to expand the Suez Canal, alongside plans to build an industrial hub and supply and logistics centre in the vicinity of the canal, have been at the heart of El-Sisi’s development plans.
El-Sisi attended the celebration in Ismailia where new tunnels crossing the Suez Canal are being constructed as part of the mega-project.
The 72 kilometre-long parallel waterway to the Suez Canal, inaugurated last year, aim to facilitate the passage of a larger number of ships through the canel, with an expected increase of total annual revenues to more than $13 billion by 2023.
Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues have, however, fallen according to rcent estimates.
Official data from the Suez Canal Authority showed that in March revenues slowed to $396.4 million from $401.4 million in February amid claims that vessels are changing routes to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa due to the drop in world oil prices.
The canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency.