Conjoining New Suez Canal with China’s Belt and Road initiatives

The construction of the new lane began a year ago, on the orders of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Egyptian Minister expressed keen interest in India’s ambitious plans for infrastructure development.

Gadkari congratulated the Egyptian Minister on the completion of new Suez Canal project in record time of 11 months with contribution of 9 billion from the people of Egypt. From 2004 to 2014 container volumes transported via the Suez Canal has grown around 70 percent and the expansion confirms the Suez Canal Authority’s continuous commitment to accommodating growth in trade.

Han said port cooperation should be a priority for China and Egypt as the two sides join their hands in pushing forward the Belt and Road as well as the Suez Canal economic corridor initiatives, because the harbors at both ends of the Suez Canal have a great influence over the Middle East, Africa and the entire planet in terms of geopolitics and global trade.

The CMA CGM Group, a key partner of the canal, said it has been crossing the canal since 1983 and expects to have more of its vessels transiting through Suez.

The project involved extending a waterway parallel to part of the 19th-century canal connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, as well as deepening and widening the old channel – the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

On Thursday, el-Sissi appeared to acknowledge that the project would not yield an immediate windfall, saying it was also meant to reassure his countrymen and the world that Egyptians “are still capable” of great accomplishments.

The government believes the New Suez Canal and an industrial zone to be developed around it will seal Egypt’s deliverance from economic purgatory – to the skepticism of some. “An MoU is scheduled to be signed in this regard”, an official statement from Road Transport and Highways Ministry said here.

Ahmed Kamaly, an economist with the American University in Cairo indicated that the mega project expected to boost the global economy is fine but ill taught.

Building six road tunnels under the Suez Canal will start soon, Mohab Mamish, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, announced Thursday.