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Egypt’s New Suez Canal Opens August

Save the date! Officials have announced that August 6th is the big day.

Staff Writer

The Suez Canal Axis, AKA The New Suez Canal, is set to open August 6th 2015, officials have announced. The 72-kilometer project involves a new 37-kilometre waterway and a deepening of the canal which will be speeding up traffic along the existing waterway and boosting revenues, according to official statements.

Suez Canal Authority chief Mohab Mameesh told reporters in the canal city of Ismailiya that the dredger operation will be completed July 15th ready for the president to inaugurate the project a week later, on August 6th. “Once the president inaugurates it, vessels will start moving through the new waterway,” he said.

The canal is promised to bring with it development of the surrounding areas into an industrial centre providing ship services and new ports. “The entire project is Egyptian... the idea, the planning, and the funding. [It will] once again put Egypt on the world investment map”, Mameesh stated.

Project funds have been raised by selling shares in the project to domestic investors, managing to raise $9 billion.

Photo Courtesy: Reuters/Asmaa Wagih