U.S. ambassador to Cairo Stephen Beecroft said he is “impressed” by establishing the New Suez Canal ahead of the expected schedule, he said Tuesday in press statements.
Establishing the new canal was supposed to take up to three years; inaugurating the project in one year is “impressive” and shows “what Egypt is capable of doing,” Beecroft said in a visit to a Coca-Cola factory in Cairo.
The New Suez Canal, to be inaugurated Aug. 6, is a 72-kilometer waterway parallel to the existing one; It aims to speed up transit time and allow ships to sail into both directions simultaneously.
The government has taken much pride in the project as an “important challenge” meant to revive the Egyptian economy.
Egypt hopes the project will increase shipping traffic to 97 ships per day by the year 2023, up from 49 ships at present, and also to increase canal revenues from $ 5.3 billion at present to $ 13.226 billion in 2023, according to Suez Canal Authority.
The Suez Canal expansion is expected to boost annual revenue up to $ 13.5 billion by 2023.
