Egypt invites all world countries to attend New Suez Canal inauguration

Egypt has invited all countries worldwide to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the New Suez Canal Project, slated for August 6, said Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

"The invitation was extended for all as this important project is linked with international trade," Shoukry told diplomatic journalists during an Iftar on Wednesday.

Launched in August 2014, the new Suez Canal project aims to add a new 72-kilometer-long shipping lane to the existing canal linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and to develop the zone around it into an industrial and commercial hub.

The project will increase the daily average of transiting vessels to 97 ships by the year 2023, up from 49 ships at present. It will also achieve direct unstopped transit for 45 ships in the two directions.

It will increase the Suez Canal revenues from $ 5.3 billion at present to $ 13.226 billion in 2023; an increase equal to 259% that shall positively contribute to Egypt’s national income of hard currencies, according to the website of the Suez Canal Authority.

The project goes side by side with the Suez Canal Area Development Project. Both projects will add to the importance of the Suez Canal and will make it the route of choice for ship owners the world over, putting any alternative routes out of competition.

A ceremony to inaugurate the new canal is to be held on August 6.