Egypt to open Suez Canal expansion

There was no public feasibility study, just an order from the new president.

That was in August 2014.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi officially opened on Thursday afternoon the “New Suez Canal”, the nation’s flagship project to boost its economic recovery, Xinhua correspondent reported from Ismailia, about 120 km northeast of capital Cairo.

The former army chief, who later changed into a business suit, formally opened the $9 billion (7.9 billion euro) waterway to the cheers of hundreds of guests, including foreign dignitaries.

A number of new development projects around the canal region are also due to break ground in the near future. The last, in 1973, saw Egypt launch a surprise attack across the canal that is now remembered as the country’s greatest battlefield victory. Al-Sisi’s program marks the third time the canal is widened for two-way traffic.

“We promised the world to offer the New Suez Canal as a gift, and here we are keeping our promise in a record time, providing for the world an additional vein for prosperity”, Sisi said, adding that the new water way will contribute to facilitating and developing worldwide maritime navigation.

Wearing a ceremonial military uniform and trademark sunglasses the president arrived for the opening ceremony on a military helicopter and boarded a monarchy-era yacht to cruise the canal.

A Panama Canal expansion, set to be completed in 2016, could steal traffic from the Asia-North America route the two canals compete for, asserted Michael Frodl, of US-based consultancy C-Level Global Risks.

One economic analyst, Angus Blair, told Sky News that although the canal will indeed bring higher revenue, more needs to be done to directly alleviate the struggling Egyptian population.

However, Wednesday’s video was the first to be released by armed groups showing a kidnapped foreigner in Egypt, an ominous escalation as the country tries to rebuild its vital tourism industry.

Egyptian air force planes parade and Egyptians wear Pharaonic costumes to march in front of a statue representing a man digging during the inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal on Thursday.

The government says it has taken major steps to prevent anyone from disrupting Thursday’s ceremony, and pro-government media have portrayed the canal extension itself as a victory over extremism. “The benefit is overestimated”.

He demanded that the route be completed within one year, tightening the original three-year deadline for the project, saying Egypt’s struggling economy could not afford to wait longer. Citizens funded the project in just a few days. “El-Sisi understands the hunger of the Egyptian people for success in the world, and he’s giving it to them”. For now, paper lanterns and white twinkling lights hang across Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The canal is one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners and is seen as a symbol of its modern state.