A New Suez Canal?

Mohab Mamish, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, announced in a press conference today plans to dig a new 72km long canal running alongside the original Suez Canal. At the conference in Ismailia, he explained that the project, predicted to cost around $4 billion, is hoped to expand trade through the area which is the fastest trade route from Europe to Asia. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is expected to announce the consortium that has been awarded the contract to develop the planned international logistics hub at the same conference.

Mamish also said that there were plans involving 37 kilometres of “deepening and expansion,” which may indicate plans to widen the current Suez Canal. The canal is of the utmost importance to the Egyptian economy, bringing in around $5 billion a year to a country that has seen tourism revenue and foreign investment take a big hit over the last three years.