Article

2015-08-07 Africa North

[ALMANAR.LB] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi on Thursday inaugurates a "new" Suez Canal in what called in the media as "a historic moment of the country", as Egypt seeks to boost its economy and international standing.

The event in the port city of Ismailiya, due to be attended by several heads of state including French President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist...
, comes two years after then army chief Sisi overthrew his Moslem Brüderbund predecessor.

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

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 has 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.

Posted by Fred 2015-08-07 00:00|| || Front Page|| [14 views ] Top

#1 D *** NG, does this mean the song isn't about the "ERIE CANAL"???

My bad.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2015-08-07 00:13|| 2015-08-07 00:13|| Front Page Top

#2 FYI Bloomberg Artic = claims this second Canal twisn't and never was needed???

Posted by JosephMendiola 2015-08-07 00:14|| 2015-08-07 00:14|| Front Page Top

#3 Moar ships paying to use it, moar money in the long run.

Posted by newc 2015-08-07 01:22|| 2015-08-07 01:22|| Front Page Top

#4 traffic only expected to increase by 10% to 20% initially

however, the faster transit allows Egypt to charge higher fees so revenue will probably increase by 25%; this should be enough to service and retire the debt (this was not sharia compliant financing IIRC)

The big question mark is the development projects adjacent to the canals which establish some huge industrial zones. So far, the zones haven't booked any major companies to build manufacturing there (at least that we know ).

Posted by lord garth 2015-08-07 08:01|| 2015-08-07 08:01|| Front Page Top

#5 The Egyptians understand what the Venezuelans don't, i.e. if you let other people make money, you can get a cut.

Posted by ed in texas 2015-08-07 08:17|| 2015-08-07 08:17|| Front Page Top

#6
I got a camel her name is Al
Lotta bile in the Suez Canal.
She wears a camel burka does our Al
Lotta bile in the Suez Canal
We’ve killed some kafirs in our day
Bombed with autos, bikes, made them pay
And we know every inch of the way
From Dearborn to Buffalo

Posted by Shipman 2015-08-07 09:05|| 2015-08-07 09:05|| Front Page Top

#7 Bravo, Shipman! Bravo! *claps madly*

Posted by trailing wife 2015-08-07 13:46|| 2015-08-07 13:46|| Front Page Top

#8 Change it to "From Alexandria to Cairo," and you have a winner.

Posted by Pappy 2015-08-07 16:01|| 2015-08-07 16:01|| Front Page Top

#9 Make it so.

Posted by Shipman 2015-08-07 19:07|| 2015-08-07 19:07|| Front Page Top

#10 Arf!

Posted by Zenobia Floger6220 2015-08-07 23:01|| 2015-08-07 23:01|| Front Page Top

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