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Egypt is planning to build a new Suez Canal
alongside the near-145 year-old historic waterway in a multi-billion dollar
project aimed at expanding trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe
and Asia.
"This giant project will be the creation of a new Suez Canal parallel to the
current channel of a total length of 72 kilometers (44.74 miles)," Mohab Mamish,
chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told a conference in Ismailia, a port town
on the Canal. His comments were broadcast by state television.
The current Suez Canal brings in around $5 billion of revenues per year, a vital
source of hard currency for Egypt which has suffered a slump in tourism and
foreign investment since its 2011 uprising.
To attract more ships and generate more income, the country has had plans to
develop 76,000 square kilometers (29,000 square miles) around the canal for
years.
Mamish spoke at a conference in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected
to announce a winning consortium to develop the project, which includes building
an international industrial and logistics hub in the Suez Canal area.
Mamish said the project would involve 35 kilometers ( miles) of "dry digging"
and 37 kilometers ( miles) would be "expansion and deepening", indicating the
current Suez Canal, which is 163 km (101 miles) long, could be widened as part
of the project. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Oliver Holmes; Editing by Jeremy
Gaunt) |
