Plans in Place for New Suez Canal

Egypt has unveiled its plan to build a new Suez Canal alongside the existing 145-year-old waterway, and digging is already underway, GAC reported in its daily Hot Port News report.

The project will see the creation of a new canal parallel to the old one, with the same depth and width, creating a two-way waterway. The existing Canal is already double-sided in some parts, and the new project will extend this to allow the transit of ships in both directions.

The new side of the canal expected to be completed within a year in additional to two tunnels passing under the canal to connect the east and west banks. There are also plans for new container terminals and other marine-related infrastructure.

The Suez Canal earns Egypt about $5 billion a year. The new canal is expected to boost annual revenues to $13.5 billion by 2023.

For security reasons, the armed forces would be in charge of the project, GAC said.