Sisi to Unveil New Suez Canal as Egypt Makes History

Local Editor

President Abdel Fattah Sisi on Thursday inaugurates a "new" Suez Canal in a historic moment of national pride, as Egypt seeks to boost its economy and international standing.

The event in the port city of Ismailia, due to be attended by several heads of state including French President Francois Hollande, comes two years after then army chief Sisi overthrew his predecessor.

Sisi broke ground on the project last August after being elected president on promises of strengthening security and reviving a dilapidated economy.

Initial time frame estimates put construction of the new route at up to three years, but Sisi set an ambitious target of just one year.

Meeting that is being touted as a landmark achievement, rivalling the digging of the original 192-kilometre [119-mile] canal which opened in 1869 after almost a decade of work.

The new section, built at a cost of $9 billion [7.9 billion Euros] and funded entirely by Egyptian investors, runs part of the way alongside the existing canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

"It's an achievement for the people who managed to fund it as a national project and accomplished it through perseverance and hard work," Sisi's office said.

It involved 37 kilometers of dry digging, creating what is effectively a "second lane", and widening and deepening another 35 kilometers of the existing canal.

It will cut the waiting period for vessels from 18 hours to 11.

By 2023 the number of ships using the canal will increase to 97 per day from 49 now as one million jobs are expected to be created over the next 15 years.

Officials hope the new waterway will more than double Suez earnings from $5.3 billion expected at the end of 2015 to $13.2 billion in 2023.

The waterway is a cornerstone for Sisi to boost his regime's legitimacy after a deadly crackdown killed hundreds and jailed thousands of supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, including women.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team